Hisham's nonsensical 12-YEAR ceiling: The myth about OLD CARS

Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein should avoid talking through his hat about putting a cap on the lifespan of cars at 12 years old until and unless he’s got the facts.

To begin with his ministry says older cars are not safe on the road. This may be a common but mistaken assumption but where are the studies and evidence that this is so?

We have had enough of this the tarik logic to policy making decisions. Remember it was just a while ago that we were told consuming too much sugar is bad for diabetes and diabetes is bad for sex? So the government conveniently increased the price of sugar substantially by removing the subsidy for it. I doubt the incidence of diabetes (or bad sex) is going to come down. This is because concern for diabetes was not the focus of the sugar price increase.

This makes me very suspicious why the minister wants to put a cap on the age of cars now. Surely it’s not about road safety because the minister has not given any credible evidence.

Aha! If we remove old cars from the roads then someone can sell more cars. No prize for guessing which car manufacturer will profit from this.

Forcing us to ride bicycles?

I have owned more than 10 cars since I started work in 1973. I have never bought a new car. All my cars were more than 10 or 12 years old, two or three of them were even more than 20 years old! My last four cars were all Protons and all over ten years old. There may be complaints about the national car but they are cheap to run and they take me from Point A to Point B and back in one piece. Now tell me cars more than 12 years dl are not safe.

Let’s look at one or two facts. In New Zealand, the age of cars is accelerating. According to a recent report, the average age of used imported vehicles in Northland is 15-16 years while the national average is 13 years. The situation is prevalent in most provincial areas, with Waimate having the oldest fleet at 17 years followed by Tasman and Waimakariri. Socio-economic factors meant people kept their cars for longer than expected. The NZ Transport Ministry data shows that in 2000, New Zealand-new vehicles were being scrapped at 18 years and used imports at 15 years. In 2011, the average scrapping age of imported used vehicles had jumped to 19 years.

Now consider this recent report from Tasmania, Australia which concluded that “analysis of Tasmania’s crash data confirms vehicle defects are not a significant factor in fatal and serious injury crashes.”

The study also pointed out that, “Vehicle age is often suggested as a core factor influencing the crash rate. There is no statistical correlation between vehicle age and vehicle defects reported in crash data.”

It also said despite the absence of supportive evidence, the perception that older vehicles contain defects which contribute significantly to crashes is high.

I suggest the Director-general of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) Professor Dr Wong Shaw Voon who claimed that cars more than 12 years old were not safe to be on the road should read this report. No scare-mongering please Prof.

Hishammuddin also assures us that the proposal to cap a lifespan on cars at 12 years will not burden owners with debt but he added that details of the proposal have yet to be finalised.

This is what he actually said: “"I have to find a mechanism so that the people won't be unduly affected or burdened by the cost of living. We may have to go ahead with what has been proposed but there might be mechanisms that won't create unnecessary burden."

Dear Datuk, my wife drives a 16-year Proton Wira (value RM4, 000) and I drive a 17-year old Proton Iswara (value RM2, 500). Now tell me Sir, when you finally find a mechanism, would it take it rocket science to figure that when you scrap our two cars, we will be reduced to riding bicycles? Please don’t tell me that’s good eco-logic.

The nasi lemak lady outside my house uses a 20-year old Proton Saga. Please assure her you will soon find a mechanism that won’t burden her. Maybe she would have to resort to using a kayu kandar like the nasi kandar man in the days of old.

Hishammuddin has also conceded that going from one car debt to another would increase household debt. However, he said that "there are many ways to overcome this", without elaborating.

The minister should stop talking through his hate or wear a new one if this one doesn’t fit. Meanwhile please leave my Proton Iswara alone until you have figured out a mechanism that would not burden me or the nasi lemak lady.

mysinchew