How to push for road safety if VIPs don’t own up?

 

We like people to be considerate when they drive, especially in Kota Bharu, which probably can claim the dubious distinction of being the most grid-locked of all the state capitals in West Malaysia.

When we queue at traffic lights, as we should in a civilised society, it is annoying when a VIP-like car cuts across the double line and is driven dangerously to the head of the queue, against on-coming traffic.

It’s different when we encounter a police car or a fire engine, beacon lights flashing and sirens wailing; we willingly move over as far as possible.

Last week a viral video showing how a Toyota Alphard was being driven resulted in a social media storm when it was revealed that the car belonged to the deputy minister in charge of religious affairs.

He responded by saying that he would leave the matter to the police.

The issue here is road safety and accountability.

Taking responsibility

Will it be possible to structurally improve Malaysia’s road safety culture when there is one leader at the top ranks of government who doesn’t think about road safety, much less about being a considerate member of society?

Shouldn’t the deputy minister educate his driver on safe driving rather than passing the buck to the police?

What if the driver says that he’s only obeying the command of his boss. The probability is that both the driver and his boss are complicit because a driver will never behave in that manner unless he has been encouraged, and constantly, at that.

One of my late friends, a captain of industry and an owner of racehorses, had a majestic S-Class Mercedes-Benz with a showy single-digit number. He had a trusted chauffeur who drove superbly and who was bidden to drive as fast as safely possible when required. Boss would settle any summons in the course of duty.

In no time at all, RS took on the psychological mien of his boss as a superior being who could care less about ordinary mortals queuing up in traffic.

Personal behaviour does count

Whether you’re a “towkay”, a headmaster or teacher, you can influence good behaviour on the road.

Studies have shown that it’s not only about laws and the power of authority — personal behaviour, leading by example are equally important, asserts Prof Wong Shaw Voon, the former chairman of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research and current chairman of the road safety sub-committee of the Alliance for Safe Communities.

“What we’ve learnt is that authority and laws don’t work by themselves. Personal influence and behaviour are just as powerful. It also depends on how an organisation looks at safety,” said Wong.

A headmaster or a teacher does not have authority beyond the school gate, and they can abdicate responsibility for students on that ground but they can achieve some good just through their physical presence and encouragement should a potentially dangerous situation take place outside.

For instance, to prevent horseplay too close to road traffic, or to make sure that students cross the road safely if the traffic warden needs help.

Different corporate cultures

The condoning of dangerous driving or riding is also reflected in the corporate realm.

There are safety-conscious oil companies with Shell a pioneer of the safety culture. In contrast, there are the p-hailing companies where Grabfood or FoodPanda riders put their priority on speed of delivery and number of deliveries.

Shell views its employees and contractors as people who must follow the highest road safety standards. If an employee is distracted by the smartphone while driving, he or she will face disciplinary action by the company if caught.

Shell mandates safe driving practices equally on its transport contractors. It doesn’t plead that transport contractors and their drivers are not their employees and therefore road crashes are not Shell’s responsibility.

The opposite is true of p-hailing companies which maintain that their riders are self-employed contractors and the company is not responsible for the dangerous riding that we observe of some of their riders.

The p-hailing companies also contribute to dangerous riding by using computer algorithms that push riders into achieving higher rates of productivity.

Express bus companies also encourage dangerous driving habits when they encourage drivers to work long hours by paying bonuses per trip.

Hold politicians to account

The federal government now has a good opportunity to take action against any lawmaker who is observed to be driving dangerously or to be condoning dangerous driving.

Political leaders should be held to a higher moral standard; they should not behave like reckless gamblers and endanger citizens when their duty is to actually protect the nation and its people.

A responsible cabinet minister should explore the full facts of the matter of last week’s incident, and pursue re-education for the culprit, who should undertake to live a new way.

Fortunately, in this matter, no one has yet pleaded that it was an Act of God. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.