KOTA KINABALU: Workers commuting to and from their workplace have been found to be more prone to accidents than when they are at the workplace, according to Sabah Road Safety Department director Herdiansah Abdul Kadir.
Human behavior was the main contributing factor in commuting accidents, he told a press conference after witnessing the launch of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Safety Conference.
One of the factors, he said, was the way people drive.
“We are now at the stage when many of our drivers have become aggressive drivers. They don’t respect other road users, other drivers,” he said.
As an example, he highlighted the many instances of drivers using the right lane and driving slowly at 40 kilometres per hour (kph). The right lane is for drivers driving fast at between 80 kmh and 90 kph, while the left lane is for those driving at a speed below that.”
Herdiansah warned that drivers caught for road hogging could be punished under the 1959 Traffic Rules.
He also stressed that driving at speeds exceeding 90 kph is not allowed on Malaysian roads as the roads in the country were not designed for speed.
“If you drive at speed, you increase the risk of accidents,” he said.
Other contributing factors in commuting accidents are queue jumping, red light running and failure to slow down when the traffic light turns amber and driving under stress.
Meanwhile, Social Security Organization (SOCSO) Sabah director Mariam Hassan said commuting accidents are one of the country’s main problems and had brought various implications from the socio-economic aspect.
“Loss of human life is a huge loss in terms of revenue from human resources in addition to damage to property and family network. One of the main factors found to cause accidents is the human factor itself and the unconducive safety environment,” she said.
Hence, any accident that brings socio-economic implications through loss of life and disability is very costly.
She said that last year, the compensation paid out by SOCSO (in Sabah) for benefits such as Accidental Permanent Disability at workplace due to commuting accidents amounted to RM2,679,547.44.
Claims for Temporary Disability Benefit in the same year due to the same contributing factor amounted to RM648,986.67 million.
“In view of this, the Human Resources Ministry is planning to reduce the rate of accidents at work by introducing various security and health promotion programmes in the workplace, such as seminars and training,” she said.
Mariam also said that employers and the top management are the main pillars in ensuring the success of their organizations’ accident prevention programmes and for the inculcation of the workplace safety culture.
Also present at the event was FMM Sabah chairman Jay Rahman.