Road Accidents in Malaysia
Malaysia is considered relatively safe for driving compared to other developing countries. But if we observe past years’ and recent road accidents statistics/reports, we can perceive that the propensity of road accidents in Malaysia is on the rise. Now I think, Malaysia really requires an investigation in the geographical distribution and regional variation of accidents rather than looking at the accidents in a national perspective. There may be certain geographical areas where accident proneness may be higher. These variations in accidents can be analyzed by developing a set of geographical indicators for different categories of vehicles (buses/cars/motorcycles/tucks) such as percentage of accidents involving a particular category of vehicle in a particular geographical area (state/district); vehicle related accidents per 100 vehicles in a particular geographical area; accidents per million vehicle kilometers in a particular geographical area, etc These indicators may be rudimentary in nature as they only indicate the extent of problem and have several limitations. Furthermore, these indicators can be used for developing an accident proneness index for each geographical division.
The following figure shows an approach that can be adopted for developing an Accident Proneness Index for each category of vehicles. It may be generally assumed that the traveling environment in general is unsafe due to a large number of factors. However, there are certain specific factors that influence accidents (for a particular category of vehicle) more adversely than other minor factors. The factors of unsafe environment such as road condition, driving habits, condition of vehicles, enforcement level, etc. are difficult to measure effectively.
Accidents are generally classified as single vehicle accidents in which the vehicle is either colliding with fixed objects or with pedestrians or the vehicle may fall in a ditch etc. and multiple vehicle accidents in which two or more than two vehicle can either collide head–on, or one vehicle may collide with the front vehicle at the back or may a have side-swipe type collision. Studying the collision pattern will give an idea about the accident pattern. It was of interest to note that (in most of the studies conducted elsewhere) two vehicles of the some type were rarely involved. In fact two buses or two trucks or two cars rarely collide together. Similar findings can be found and will be useful in road accident analysis.
Most of the accidents are attributed to the fault of the driver. It is mainly due to the need for fixing the responsibility on some one. Generally the fault is placed on the driver of the bigger vehicles, unless the cause of the accident is obvious, such as fire, electrocution etc. Mechanical causes such as brake failure, tyre burst etc. are also there in lesser number of cases. Therefore, the majority of accident causes are linked with road conditions and driver behaviour. In most of the accidents, a single factor is not present and an accident is a result of a number of complex factors that jointly and singly may be responsible for the accident.
Some of the important factors of vehicle accidents are (i) demographic characteristics of drivers - It is said, "Young drivers and new vehicles are not a safe combination". It is common practice to see very young drivers handling quite heavy vehicles of modern technology. These vehicles have better acceleration and deceleration rates and consequently can stop in very short time and also pick up speed quickly. The behaviour of the driver generally governs the attitudes of the driver. Rash and negligent attitudes may result in more accidents. Socio-economic background was also found to influence the driving behaviour. (ii) driving fatigue-excessive driving, late night or early morning driving, long route driving etc. may also lead to accidents.(iii) road network limitations-whether the roads are in agreement with the stipulations regarding the quality of road surface, curvature, gradient, sight distance etc. (iv) excessive speed, i.e. in order to perform more trips and maximum revenue, buses may exceed speed limits.(v) heterogeneous traffic - two vehicles of the same types normally do not collide with each other. In major roads in Malaysia, the traffic is very heterogeneous and consequently results in greater number of traffic accidents. (vi) driving checks- drivers are not generally checked for their driving behaviour. In western countries "Sobriety checks", are found to give positive results. Such checks are conducted during late night and early hours to find out drunken and sleepy drivers. During daytime sobriety checks are conducted to book speeding and rash driving. (vii) Lack of medical facilities- according to sources available, fewer people die on the spot while more people succumb to their injuries either on the way to or at the hospital. This indicates the lack of trauma care facilities and absence of speedy transportation of accident victims from the accident spot to the hospital. Actually, there should be a well-connected network of trauma care centres, doctors, and ambulance services all along the major roads. Ideally the accident victims should get first aid within 15 minutes, and full medical within an hour. (viii) ill-maintained vehicles-heavy vehicles are not maintained for accident free driving and drivers of these vehicles are driving excessively. Buses are at times over loaded, which may result in sudden tyre burst, axle breakdown, brake failure etc.
Enforcement measures and improvement in road conditions would also reduce accidents. In fact integrated measures in the form of road improvement, driver education, road safety education to school children and public and effective enforcement will reduce accidents considerably.
The following figure shows an approach that can be adopted for developing an Accident Proneness Index for each category of vehicles. It may be generally assumed that the traveling environment in general is unsafe due to a large number of factors. However, there are certain specific factors that influence accidents (for a particular category of vehicle) more adversely than other minor factors. The factors of unsafe environment such as road condition, driving habits, condition of vehicles, enforcement level, etc. are difficult to measure effectively.
Accidents are generally classified as single vehicle accidents in which the vehicle is either colliding with fixed objects or with pedestrians or the vehicle may fall in a ditch etc. and multiple vehicle accidents in which two or more than two vehicle can either collide head–on, or one vehicle may collide with the front vehicle at the back or may a have side-swipe type collision. Studying the collision pattern will give an idea about the accident pattern. It was of interest to note that (in most of the studies conducted elsewhere) two vehicles of the some type were rarely involved. In fact two buses or two trucks or two cars rarely collide together. Similar findings can be found and will be useful in road accident analysis.
Most of the accidents are attributed to the fault of the driver. It is mainly due to the need for fixing the responsibility on some one. Generally the fault is placed on the driver of the bigger vehicles, unless the cause of the accident is obvious, such as fire, electrocution etc. Mechanical causes such as brake failure, tyre burst etc. are also there in lesser number of cases. Therefore, the majority of accident causes are linked with road conditions and driver behaviour. In most of the accidents, a single factor is not present and an accident is a result of a number of complex factors that jointly and singly may be responsible for the accident.
Some of the important factors of vehicle accidents are (i) demographic characteristics of drivers - It is said, "Young drivers and new vehicles are not a safe combination". It is common practice to see very young drivers handling quite heavy vehicles of modern technology. These vehicles have better acceleration and deceleration rates and consequently can stop in very short time and also pick up speed quickly. The behaviour of the driver generally governs the attitudes of the driver. Rash and negligent attitudes may result in more accidents. Socio-economic background was also found to influence the driving behaviour. (ii) driving fatigue-excessive driving, late night or early morning driving, long route driving etc. may also lead to accidents.(iii) road network limitations-whether the roads are in agreement with the stipulations regarding the quality of road surface, curvature, gradient, sight distance etc. (iv) excessive speed, i.e. in order to perform more trips and maximum revenue, buses may exceed speed limits.(v) heterogeneous traffic - two vehicles of the same types normally do not collide with each other. In major roads in Malaysia, the traffic is very heterogeneous and consequently results in greater number of traffic accidents. (vi) driving checks- drivers are not generally checked for their driving behaviour. In western countries "Sobriety checks", are found to give positive results. Such checks are conducted during late night and early hours to find out drunken and sleepy drivers. During daytime sobriety checks are conducted to book speeding and rash driving. (vii) Lack of medical facilities- according to sources available, fewer people die on the spot while more people succumb to their injuries either on the way to or at the hospital. This indicates the lack of trauma care facilities and absence of speedy transportation of accident victims from the accident spot to the hospital. Actually, there should be a well-connected network of trauma care centres, doctors, and ambulance services all along the major roads. Ideally the accident victims should get first aid within 15 minutes, and full medical within an hour. (viii) ill-maintained vehicles-heavy vehicles are not maintained for accident free driving and drivers of these vehicles are driving excessively. Buses are at times over loaded, which may result in sudden tyre burst, axle breakdown, brake failure etc.
Enforcement measures and improvement in road conditions would also reduce accidents. In fact integrated measures in the form of road improvement, driver education, road safety education to school children and public and effective enforcement will reduce accidents considerably.
posted by SANAL at 7:03 AM
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4 Comments:
This is an interesting post. However I find it very convenient to blame the attitude of drivers on road accidents.
Reading about statistics of road accidents in Malaysia vis-a-vis other countries, I can't help but wonder, what is really different between Malaysians and the rest of the world that contributed to the difference of accident statistic?
Is it the safety of the road or differences in human behavior? The consensus seemed to be that the human behavior differs as one crosses borders. The government's "You can make a difference" advertising campaign seemed to corroborate this.
How convenient.
As I ponder further, I asked if mankind is that different. We have the same physiological built-up. We are motivated by the same thing. We value life and security. I would love to believe there is a universal human quality practice by mankind.
I am sure you have heard stories about Singaporeans driving recklessly and being fined by Malaysian authorities upon crossing the causeway. Now, is bad driving a Malaysian thing, or is it a human thing?
Is it not obvious that our roads should be made safer? I am a driver and I have seen some of the most dangerous road configurations on local roads. Is it not the time for the government to "make a difference" too?
What do you think?
in order to help reduce the amount of accidents and injuries that occur each year on the roads we all owe each other a duty of care. This comes regardless of whether you are a driver, motorcyclist, pedestrian etc; whatever you use the road as you should do so in compliance with the Highway Code.
One of the most common injuries associated with road accidents is whiplash. Other forms of injuries that you may suffer as the result of a road traffic accident includes broken or fractured bones, torn ligaments, head or neck trauma and even spinal cord damage. Whatever injury you are suffering from as the result of a road traffic accident you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation; this is as long as you can prove that the accident was caused through no fault of your own.
There are certain aspects that need to be looked at when it comes to road accidents such as driver behaviour, road conditions and the state of the vehicle at the time of the accident. All of these will be used as proof that the accident occurred through no fault of your own.
Road accidents can occur due to various reasons. If we all follow traffic rules then it will better for us.
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Swift Solicitors can help you claim your road accident compensation. They're expert in this area. See example case:
"Instructions were received by Mr B to act on his behalf in relation to a road traffic accident in which he was thrown from his motorbike in a collision with another vehicle. As a result of the collision Mr B suffered numerous injuries. Claims were submitted for injuries, vehicle damage and loss of earnings. Medical evidence was disclosed to the third party insurers on 21st June 2012, along with an offer to settle. As no agreement could be reached Swift Solicitors issued legal proceedings on 11th July 2012. As a result further increased offers were made by the third party insurers which were rejected, thus resulting in yet more increased offers bringing the matter to a conclusion. As a result of Mr B following our advice, we were able to obtain an increased award of compensation."
-Case Study
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