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- Ahmad Malie
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- A signage near the vicinity of a secondary school reminds drivers to slow down in view of the road bumps ahead.
SIBU: Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers Union (KGBS) and Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) both agree with a recent federal proposal that speed bumps be built in the vicinity of schools to reduce road accidents.
KGBS president Ahmad Malie, however, went a step further by suggesting that driving schools also teach their trainees how to drive when around school areas.
His STU counterpart, Jisin Nyud, on the other hand, commented that motorists must exercise high self-discipline to ensure school children’s safety.
The duo were commenting on the recent statement by Education Deputy Minister Datuk P Kamalanathan that speed bumps might be made compulsory around school areas.
Kamalanathan reportedly said although numerous measures had been carried out, including placing warning signage, using traffic wardens, reducing the speed limit and thickening yellow lines in front of schools, accidents still occurred, including fatal ones.
For instance, a standard four pupil of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Teluk Medan in Penang was recently killed when he was hit by a lorry while crossing a road to his school.
Earlier in Dungun, Terengganu, a standard four pupil was killed when he was struck by a car while crossing a road to his school.
“Driving schools should have a syllabus that incorporates values and procedures while driving in school areas. This is one way to make schools safe from road accidents,” said Ahmad yesterday.
Jisin Nyud, meanwhile, stressed that drivers must always stay alert as children are very curious about everything.
“STU agrees with the construction of speed bumps because divers would be forced to slow down,” he said.
“However, like other road signs, it needs motorists to exercise high self-discipline. It all depends on their attitude, too. We can have overhead bridges, but there are still people crossing roads without using them.”
He opined that no matter how many road signs were erected, it would come to naught if no one took it seriously.
“One good example is zebra crossing. It typically gives priority to rights of way to pedestrians, and vehicles must stop to allow people to walk across the road. However, over here, pedestrians are giving way to the motorists.”