Miros still driving home safety culture on the road

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SIBU: Embracing the safety culture is vital to keep accidents at bay, says Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

Lee stressed that motorists among others, should not be texting while driving as this affects their focus on the road. Such lackadaisical behaviour also endangers other road users, he added. He attributed road accidents mainly to the human factor.

“There are some people not paying attention while on the road, for example texting. This is what I mean by the question of attitude on the road. Perhaps, people have yet to embrace the safety culture,” Lee told thesundaypost.

He was commenting on Assistant Minister for Land and Air Transportation and Safety Datuk Lee Kim Shin’s recent statement that not many people took safety on the road and in the workplace seriously enough.

According to Kim Shin, on average, there were 50 vehicular crashes with one fatality per day in Sarawak, adding that the aim was to reduce accident statistics to two and below from three per 10,000 vehicular crashes.

The assistant minister had also cited studies showing that 65 per cent of road accidents were due to the human factor. On this, Lee said it was also important for road users to have good mental health. He pointed out that with a good frame of mind, they would be able to concentrate better on driving. Lee said besides the human factor, condition of roads also contributed to accidents. Hence, he said it was most important for roads to be safely designed when built.

“Roads must also be regularly maintained to ensure the safety of road users,” he said.

That aside, he pointed out that vehicles too must be well maintained for safety.Towards this end, Lee suggested that road users practise defensive driving and riding.

“One must be able to anticipate the action of other road users and how their action can affect us,” he said.