PETALING JAYA: Experts have warned that merely releasing daily road crash data is unlikely to change the behaviour of reckless road users so as to minimise the number of traffic accidents.
On Mar 6, Malaysiakini reported transport minister Loke Siew Fook as saying that the police have agreed to publish daily road accident data due to the rising fatality rates.
However, road safety consultant Karen Goonting said it was imperative that a well-thought-out strategy be put in place containing multiple measures designed to minimise road fatalities.
Otherwise, it may be an exercise in futility, she said.
“What daily crash data is published, and how it is presented, is important.
“Merely providing the number of deaths by state or motor vehicle, gender, cause, etc, without behaviour change campaigns on how deaths could be reduced, may amount to no effective action,” she told FMT.
Goonting said road safety education programmes and public advocacy, as well as driver rehabilitation programmes, which Malaysia has yet to introduce, must all be considered as part of a holistic strategy aimed at reducing road accidents.
She said targeted enforcement of traffic laws may also help to curb road crashes.
However, Goonting warned that the efficacy of safety campaigns would depend on their continuity, the implementation of consistent strategies and the availability of resources.
On the other hand, she said changes to various factors, including to key decision-making personnel within the road transport ministry, may hamper efforts.
“It is a multi-factorial problem,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) chairman Wong Shaw Voon said it is important for all stakeholders to embrace the “safe system” approach.
The safe system approach refers to a comprehensive strategy adopted by the US department of transport aimed at eliminating death and serious injury on roads.
It recognises that humans make mistakes which can lead to accidents, and plans for a system designed to accommodate them. It also provides that all stakeholders – the government, industry, researchers and the public – play a vital role in preventing fatalities and serious injuries.
“Road safety challenges are related to the surrounding system,” said Wong.
He said the safe system approach recognises the human body’s vulnerability to crash forces. Therefore, one goal of the approach is to keep impact energy on a potential crash victim at tolerable levels.
For instance, Wong said, certain newer car models incorporate the safe system approach by using technologies such as cruise control and emergency braking systems.
Other technologies accessible to road users, such as Google Maps, can help monitor speed limits, he added.
Wong said the public must also practise self-awareness by paying attention to road signs.
According to Loke, more than 6,600 people died in crashes on Malaysian roads, the highest number in five years. Of that number, 4,480 deaths involved motorcyclists, an average of 12 deaths a day or one death every two hours.
