A tragic head-on collision between two vehicles near Batu Gajah yesterday claimed five lives, with three others seriously injured. The dead includes four in a Toyota, and one in a Mercedes-Benz.
All four occupants of the Vios lost their lives, while the Merc’s front passenger also died. The C-Class driver suffered serious head injuries, and the two rear passengers were seriously injured. It’s said that the Toyota crashed into the Mercedes after overtaking another vehicle.
Based on photos shared on social media (not shown here), it is believed that the rear passengers in the Toyota were not belted up, and were thrown forward in the collision, pushing the front seats and their occupants towards the dashboard. Seeing that this was a head-on crash, the speeds and forces involved would have been huge.
A US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study revealed that in an accident involving a vehicle travelling at 50 km/h, the weight of unbuckled rear passengers jumps by 30-60 times their original weight.
This means that in a 30-50 km/h collision, an unrestrained rear passenger becomes the equivalent of a 3.5-tonne projectile hitting the back of the front passenger. Needless to say, that’s huge potential for injury or even death for both occupants, as is the case here.
A recent World Health Organization (WHO) Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015 suggests that Malaysia has a seat belt compliance rate of 77% and 13% for front and rear occupants, lower than in Cambodia and Vietnam, even. However, the Malaysian police refuted these numbers, claiming that they should be higher.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) found in May 2015 that only 7-9% of Malaysians wear seat belts in the back. On an even sadder note, MIROS found that compliance and overall awareness on the importance of buckling up at the back was founded more on the fear of being fined, as opposed to anything else.
Dear readers and motorists, please buckle up and insist that all your passengers do so too. We know full well why we must buckle up, front or back. And law or no law, fine or no fine, belting up in the back is not difficult to do – we value our lives as well as those of our loved ones, don’t we?
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Mercedes Benz, with all its modern safety assist couldn’t save its occupant when its hit head on by a Vios driver who couldn’t be patient enough to stay in his lane :(
To be fair, all W205 variants in Malaysia lack any form of active safety options (Driving Assistance Package Plus), and only has Collision Prevention Assist Plus.
That being said, DAP+ or not wouldn’t have mattered in this crash. As for the W205, it appears to have been a survivable crash as the A pillar and structural integrity appears to be intact (as opposed to the Vios where the A pillar and roof were crumpled). Most probably in the W205, an unsecured object struck the passenger hard enough on the head to be fatal.
Well, were you expecting a tank? At the front passenger seat, risks distribute 75% to it. So it is unfortunate that she passed away. But the vios would have been a boulder speeding down Everest anyway.
Be a competent driver. Your harsh actions on the road may end up causing harm to other responsible drivers.
Road lines must be planned properly. Don’t use “asal boleh” attitude. Lives are at stake here.
vios memang la… tin milo… some no airbags or abs also…
Chances are if you see cars driven by like psychos ..they are either Myvi or Vios . It’s time that Malaysia implements vehicle insurance based on risk bands . Malaysians must be taught the hard way and must be made to realise that taking unnecessary risks while on the roads will bring catastrophic consequences .
Lol that. Vios roof intact while Merc roof bent.
It’s the other way round.
The W205 is the one with the simple 5 spoke wheels, and the roof’s intact.
It’s the Vios whose roof looks pretty rekt.
I really appreciate that this article mention the fact that its highly believed that the victims did not buckle up. We should also mention this is local newspapers often to remind the public.