The tragic festival of accidents

The bodies go upon to raise up upon Malaysian roads as well as the Transport Ministry contingency pierce in to tall rigging to residence this issue.

COMMENT

Celebrating amid stupidity seems to be an apt description in summing up the annual mass departure of the Klang Valley's floating race behind to their hometowns (kampung) scattered all over the nation.

However to many, the maddening pour out to farming villages as well as not as big hometowns is conjunction the respite nor the heal to their rat-race urban stress, work vigour as well as concentration as well as even monotony.

Last notation shopping, arranging transportation as well as the arduous short as well as prolonged journeys behind bumper to bumper pushing can ruffle the feathers of even the most studious as well as demure Malaysian.

Times have changed.

The series of vehicles upon the highway has grown hand in glove with the population. Tragically, so has the series of highway accidents which happen during the same time with the mad pour out during major festival periods.

In 1980, the marvellous caption popped up in the internal any day screaming, "One chairman is killed any dual minutes somewhere in the world today." Our nation was not spared such meaningless deaths either.

That year alone, there were 62,682 highway accidents upon Malaysian roads claiming 2,827 lives with 22,150 severely injured. That ratio was about 8.48 Malaysians killed per 10,000 vehicles in West Malaysia alone.

What is the incident today? The picture is as grave as it was 32 years ago, if not worse.

M! ulti dim ensional problem
Today, the concern is not just with the supervision authorities though has become the essence of caring Malaysians during any major festival deteriorate call millions travelling upon roads with high-tech electronic personal messages to any alternative via e-mail, Facebook as well as twitters reminding any alternative to expostulate with care.

This is another tragic as well as nauseous unfolding which the government's efforts alone cannot finalise the tall fatalities of highway accidents especially during the festival mass departure because it also involves all highway users, owners of in isolation vehicles, blurb drivers as well as not forgetting the motorcyclists.

The complaint is to most experts the multi-dimensional one.

It is in conclusion not just the sheer series of vehicles upon the highway network with some-more than 50,214.6km of paved roads (including 1,471.6 km of expressways) as well as 5,942km of unpaved roads, covering both state as well as sovereign roads via the country.

The race of 3.5 million vehicles in 1986, covering all sorts similar to in isolation motorcars, motorcycles, buses, taxis as well as blurb lorries, trailers as well as vans, has grown to 7.7 million 10 years later.

Today, according to sensitive sources, the trade upsurge along the North-South Expressway alone involves the little 1.1 million vehicles. Last year, the series of sum purebred vehicles saw the unusual growth to 21.2 million.

In 2009, the nation ranked 49th in terms of 350 engine vehicles per 1,000 people compared to Thailand with 165 per 1,000, Singapore 156 per 1,000 as well as Philippines 33 per 1,000. Only Korea as well as Japan kick us with 379 per 1,000 as well as 589 per 1,000 respectively.

While experts studying the highway carnage rightly pointed out which the factors increasing highway fatalities have been badly designed roads, inadequate vehicles as well as forward driv! ers, the each year flourishing rate of highway accidents ensuing in deaths is not comforting.

There is no way to measure the suffering as well as grief of those who lost their desired ones or the suffering of the maimed. The mercantile consequences can be unusual amounting to billions of ringgit, the detriment of potential income as well as professional tellurian resources, as well as millions of medical cost for the maimed.

Between 1992 as well as 1996, the Transport Ministry as well as applicable agencies spent RM40.922 million upon highway reserve campaigns as well as in 1997, the supervision felt necessary to control the investigate upon collision prone roads nationwide. A review was also conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the campaigns.

Human error, carelessness, forward driving, ignoring trade rules, careless as well as greedy pushing behaviours as well as speeding were the little pointers which caused 94% of the highway fatalities.

In 1997, the "Ride Bright" campaign requiring motorcycles to switch upon their lights had reduced fatalities by the poignant 29% due to larger visibility.

The total have been telling
Then transport apportion Dr Ling Liong Sik in 1995 expelled the actuality piece upon microcomputer collision analysis package. It disclosed which sovereign roads available the top series of deadly accidents, i.e.
34.6% of the ases.

Drivers/riders inside of the age organisation of 26-30 year were the most common highway users involved in highway accidents (18.1%).

Almost 91.5% of highway accidents occurred in rash areas. Another 7%! happene d during places controlled by trade lights as well as 2% during places with alternative forms of trade control such as policemen, yellow boxes as well as yellow bars.

The investigate also noted the top series of accidents as well as deadly cases available were inside of 1601 hours to 1800 hours whereas the lowest rate was between 0401 to 0600 hours.

Careless pushing was found to be the main cause of accidents which the little 30,244 highway users during error under this offence.

Has this incident altered today? The current unfolding according to most seems to be deteriorating in the pushing enlightenment as well as behaviour.

Last year, the one-week (Ops Sikap) available the sum of 8,777 highway accidents with 117 people killed (as during August, 2011), an enlarge of 20% in fatalities of which 45% were motorcylcists.

How mostly do you see enforcement upon the roads even during undiluted or rise hours with complicated trade volumes?

In 2005, investigate by the highway reserve dialect revealed which 67% of drivers have bad pushing habits. And the series is flourishing receiving in to consideration which out of some-more than twelve million purebred car drivers, the little 500,000 brand new drivers have been receiving to the highway yearly.

It is not comforting to note which the direction of bad pushing as well as lack of highway pleasantness have been deteriorating over the years. The total have been telling.

With the current race of the little 28 million, highway collision statistics disclosed which the little 65,000 have died in any 10-year period or an normal of eighteen tellurian lives have been lost any day due to such highway mishaps.

Weaving in as well as out of traffic, following too closely, branch or reversing but signalling in advance, eating, drinking as well as chatting upon cell phones, violence trade lights, during once slicing in front of vehicles (jumping queues), h! ighway h ogging, impatiently as well as fast over-taking vehicles go upon to show up Malaysian drivers upon the road.

Commercial as well as complicated vehicles also minister their satisfactory share to highway accidents particularly theatre buses for speeding, forward drivers, bad upkeep ensuing in inadequate brakes, lights as well as signalling lights as well as bald tyres.

In recent years, brand new problems cropped up in the form of highway rage, the military matter. If highway bullies as well as aggressive pushing manners have been insufficient in aggravating matters, snatch thefts as well as robberies have been frequent any day happenings.

Ministry contingency do more
Is the current MCA Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha performing effectively in rebellious the flourishing problems confronting the pushing population? Besides legislating heavier penalties for the little offences similar to violence trade lights as well as the couple of televised campaigns, the method seems to be performing during the common level.

Will the destiny be any better upon Malaysian roads? The answer is unfortunately, unlikely.

The annual mass departure behind to applaud the diverse brand new year informative festivals will go upon to be marred by these offensive symptoms of the highway pushing culture.

It is not comforting to note which the internal municipal as well as city councils particularly in the Klang Valley have been similarly ineffective in rebellious most of the problems confronting the pushing population. Lack of parking spaces in most blurb centres as well as townships have forced motorists to double or even three times park, causing inconvenience as well as offend among some-more demure highway users.

Faulty or broken down parking meters have been not transposed or repaired.

It is tall time, the Transport Ministry provide the open with the actuality piece of engine car accidents! as well as fatalities.

Enforcement opposite erring drivers of blurb vehicles seems sadly lacking.

A wise man once pronounced which there have been dual mistakes the single can make along the highway to truth, not getting all the way as well as not starting. That seems to sum up the opening of the current Transport Ministry.

Stanley Koh is the FMT columnist.

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