LETTERS: The Alliance for Safe Community and other organisations recently made aspersions that the government has not made sufficient allocation for road safety under the 2022 Budget.
I write this based on my experience in advising governments on road safety policies as a former staff member of the World Health Organisation Western Pacific Region.
Road safety is an integrated discipline and no one sector/agency can claim responsibility for all its component activities and a "total" share of budget allocation. Each sector/agency (such as public works, transport, health and enforcement) has a specific responsibility and, collectively, they all contribute to efforts to improve road safety.
The Public Works Department takes responsibilities for safe roads. The Transport Department ensures that all vehicles on the road are safe.
The health sector is responsible for emergency response and medical care of victims. The police and related agencies enforce laws pertaining to road safety. The government makes an allocation for each of these sectors in its budgets.
Efforts to improve road safety are "coordinated" by different mechanisms across all countries. Transport and police agencies are the most common coordinating agencies.
In Malaysia, we have a cabinet committee, Road Transport Department (which has incorporated the tasks of the former Road Safety Department), Malaysian Road Safety Research Institute (first of its kind in the region) and a Road Safety Council.
Therefore, the issue is not one of insufficient allocation for road safety by the government or lack of coordination of activities.
The community has its equal share of responsibility in road safety and non-governmental organisations like the Alliance for Safe Community have a big role in promoting safe practices. The government had spent millions on road safety campaigns and direct educational activities.
Yet, the community has fallen short of complying with road safety laws/practices such as proper motorcycle helmet use, adherence to speed limits, use of seat belts /child restraints, etc.
We know that enforcement strategies are the most effective in road safety efforts. Whenever the government increases its enforcement activities, as in festive seasons, the police become "unpopular" and the community "demands" a reduction in fines.
The government has no choice but to reduce fines in order to ease the economic burden of the underprivileged. If only all road users follow the safety practices, we will not find ourselves in the vicious cycle of non-compliance with safety practices and "forgiven fines".
Hence, the public should unreservedly follow traffic rules and regulations, both in urban and rural areas. We are aware that compliance with safety laws is an issue in rural areas.
Malaysia is an upper-middle-income country. As we progress towards a developed country status, our attitudes and practices towards road safety, too, must reflect our advancing maturity. Relying solely on government's actions and budget is not the order of the day.
Dr Krishnan Rajam
Senior professor AIMST University, Former technical officer (Injury Prevention), WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, Manila