Who is correct, the Transport Minister, or the Federal Traffic Police Chief?
Read the news reports below:-
STAR, Thursday 7 February 2008
“Fewer fatalities on the road this festive season
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said that up till the seventh day (Wednesday) of Ops Sikap XVI, the number of deaths on the roads had shown a downward trend, and he is praying this will continue.
The traffic flow at highways has also been smooth despite the traffic volume tripling.
"So far, the number of deaths until (Wednesday) has generally been below the average number of 17 fatalities. Sometimes it is five, seven, 10 deaths daily nationwide but we are just halfway through Ops Sikap.”
BERNAMA, Thursday 7 February 2008.
“Road Deaths Double on Chinese New Years Eve
Federal Traffic Police Chief Datuk Hamza Taib said 26 people died on the seventh day of Ops Sikap XVI yesterday compared to only 13 on Tuesday.
Sixteen of the dead were motorcyclists, five were car drivers and passengers, three bicycle riders and a pedestrian and lorry driver.
Hamza also said 1,162 road crashes were reported yesterday and nearly half of them occurred along municipal roads, followed by federal roads with 311, state roads 196, highways 107 and other roads 47.
Meanwhile, 10,203 summonses were issued to the road users for various traffic offences.
-- BERNAMA”
There is something seriously amiss with safety on the roads and highways of Malaysia, this carnage is clearly caused by a combination of:
Inadequate signage, sub-standard maintenance, poor road design, bad driving (for example: speeding, recklessness, inconsideration for other road users, carelessness) also plays a part, as does patchy and inconsistent enforcement.
The solution?
Quite simple,
1. Far less talking about road safety, and more dedicated work.
2. Immediate implementation of 24 / 7 strict and universal enforcement, to eliminate all speeding, reckless and careless driving by anyone and everyone, without exception.
3. Ensuring that all roads and highways are well designed and built, and always properly maintained.
4. Ensuring that all traffic lights, road signs, etc., are of standard size, colour and design, and are properly located and are installed at the correct hight to ensure they are clearly visible.
5. The training and examination of all drivers needs to be upgraded.
KEEPING DEATH OFF THE ROADS INVOLVES EVERYONE.
PLEASE HELP TO ENSURE ROAD SAFETY IS A REALITY NOT A DREAM!
L'chaim!Road Deaths Double On Chinese New Year's Eve
2 comments:
Captain sir, everytime festivities come along and we hear the same old drags from the authorities.
It has come to a stage where I believe Malaysians will NEVER learn to be safe on the road. It is cruel but I say....if they want to court death let them! The road safety blokes just spout the same jargon, and the police are snoozing most of the time in corners waiting for the easy catch.
Yes Zorro, in Malaysia, it is sadly the usual "Mati Katak" (Die like a frog) syndrome, apparently life is considered to be so cheap,therefore why bother with road safety, or any other kind of safety for that matter!
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