August 12, 2024
The situation involving motorcycle accidents in our country is alarming, prompting experts to urgently call for the government to raise the legal riding age!
Associate Professor Liu Dehua, Director of the Road Safety Research Center at Putra University, believes that increasing the age limit from 16 to 19 is necessary to reduce the risks faced by young riders.
According to a report by Metropolis Daily, Liu stated, "We need to raise the minimum age for motorcycle riders to reduce the exposure of teenagers to motorcycles. This policy could help decrease the number of student riders or inexperienced young motorcyclists, thereby reducing their risk of accidents and lowering the chances of fatalities."
He also emphasized, "Unless authorities implement stricter enforcement and measures like separating motorcycle lanes from main roads, awareness campaigns alone will not be enough to reduce the frequency of traffic accidents."
Dato' Sri Yusri, Director of the Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department, recently revealed that there were 600,000 motorcycle-related accidents last year, averaging 1,644 incidents daily.Among these cases, 17 were fatal, with an average of 18 deaths per day, and motorcyclists accounted for 12 of these fatalities—approximately 75%.
This marks a significant increase compared to previous years.The fact that motorcycle accidents make up 75% of the total has raised serious concerns.Liu Dehua stressed that the government needs to take immediate action to reverse this worrying trend."One effective way to reduce motorcycle accidents is by separating them from other vehicles to minimize the chances of collisions," he said."To make this approach work, I suggest the government set up dedicated lanes, similar to the blue motorcycle lanes in São Paulo, Brazil, in several key areas."
He added that this initiative by the Brazilian authorities not only benefits motorcyclists by providing dedicated riding zones but also significantly reduces the likelihood of traffic accidents, achieving a dual purpose.Strengthening enforcement is also crucial.In addition to establishing dedicated motorcycle lanes, Liu emphasized that effective law enforcement and swift responses from authorities are essential to reducing these accidents.He cited the center’s own AI-powered automatic road accident monitoring system as an example: "This system continuously monitors road conditions and can detect any irregular incidents in real-time, notifying authorities through social media platforms like WhatsApp."
Liu Dehua is confident that if these measures are effectively implemented, they will help reverse the worsening motorcycle accident situation and create a safer road environment for the public."If we can improve the monitoring speed and accuracy of the system, it will enable authorities to respond more quickly to emergencies, saving more lives and preventing further accidents."Education and enforcement must go hand in hand.
On the other hand, Liu emphasized that public education on road safety is crucial, but it must be carried out in conjunction with these measures to be effective."Without these key steps, such activities will not achieve the goal of reducing traffic accidents."