Analysts have said that a review of the existing driving school syllabus could reduce road accidents like the fatal incident on May 2 – in which two allegedly speeding Perodua Myvis crashed into a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, killing three people in the latter – according to a Bernama report.
Director of HELP University’s Crime and Criminology Institute Datuk Akhbar Satar told the national news agency that the identification and improvement of the syllabus’ weak points could instil learner drivers with more comprehensive driving skills, thus turning them to safer, more considerate drivers.
“Driving institutes tend to focus on the importance of obeying traffic or safety rules but people are not applying good values whilst driving,” he said. “I feel it’s important for the driving school syllabus to cover topics such as ethics and courtesy. These days, it’s quite common to see people being rude and even behaving like gangsters when on the road.”
He added that the current guidelines are too basic and fail to fulfil the driving requirements of today, which could be contributing to poor driver attitudes and an increasing number of road accidents. Statistics from the first three months of this year have registered a 3.3% increase in accidents to 117,934 cases, with the number of fatalities on the road rising from 1,557 in the same period last year to 1,696.
Additionally, Akhbar said that more integrated and holistic law enforcement and long-term planning could keep traffic offenders at bay. “Selfish drivers should not be let off that easily,” he said. “If they commit an offence, they should be punished accordingly. We have to discipline Malaysian drivers with stricter laws, so that they learn to respect other road users.”
Meanwhile, driving instructor Mohamed Salim Thayubkhan said that the current syllabus should have a stronger focus on “reality driving” instead of just another stepping stone in obtaining a licence.
“The reality driving I’m talking about refers to the highly challenging driving conditions on our roads these days,” he said. “They [Malaysian drivers] have their own individual style of driving and they come across as highly selfish, with little or no regard for their own safety or the safety of other road users. They are not all considerate.”
Mohamed Salim added that drivers should be able to drive carefully, all the while taking the safety of other road users, including pedestrians, into consideration. “Driving skills can only be learnt through practical lessons, not from books on driving,” he said. “In reality, what is written in the books is different from what’s happening on our roads.”
Open University of Malaysia psychology and counselling lecturer Dr R. Nambiar said that emotional stress could also be a factor. “When a person is facing a lot of pressure, his attitude and reactions can change,” he said. “And, when such a person drives, he may not think about his safety or the safety of others. All he wants to do is escape from his problems.”
On the other hand, Kedah youth parliament member Muhammad Nur Faruqi Ismail said that NGOs and other parties should join forces to provide a suitable platform to teach safe driving techniques to youths. He added that he welcomed healthy motorsports activities, as they could draw the attention of youths away from negative elements.
“There’s nothing wrong in them joining motoring clubs but they must make sure that they are well versed in road safety,” he said. “For example, if they intend to travel in a convoy, they should have a marshal to supervise them and ensure that they are adhering to the speed limit.”
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The system needs a total revamp.
Not some adhoc implementation of catch tinting today, JPJ inspection tomorrow and all the useless stuff.
And the corruption has to stop. It all started from the time you try to get a license.
Back in those days, people who couldn’t read or write could still pass the Undang.
What is realistic driving lesson? How to do cornering while speeding 160km/h on the highways?
Implement a car insurance customised to the risk level of different age, different car model would be better.
how does implementing a new insurance system improve malaysian driver ability and improve road safety!?!
Simple, when you make those reckless driver can’t afford to involve into accident (high insurance premium, co-insur payment, post accident extra premium), they will drive like your grandma.
When the fuel rise to RM5 a litre, you will see a lot of rempit Saga/Myvi crawling like your dad on the road.
You don’t feel the pain, you won’t behave. This is reality!
What if those reckless drivers are rich?
It would not be practical as some are sharing cars with their family members. Should revamp the whole system and make it hard to pass the test to get a licence like what is done in South Korea and impose harsh penalties for drivers who break the rules. That would be more realistic and practical.
Don’t dream of a better syllabus if the execution remains the same standard. I don’t know whether this applies to driving centre all around the world, but the one I’ve been to twice (once for car and once for motor) didn’t teach shit during the 6-8 hours. All he did was talk crap. It’s kinda sad to see this as itt is compulsory yet they just waste our valuable time holding us there.
I wholeheartedly agree.
One problem is that behavior and rules are only learned in theory, the driving part is a bit short and is more concerned with being able to operate a car. In my driving school and exam in Germany they make you drive for a long time before letting you take the exam, and the tester will do everything he can to distract you while driving. He will chat with you, give illegal orders, … it’s your job as a driving student to automatically be able to drive safe… turning the head before changing a lane for example, if you can’t do that you won’t pass.
There also need to be highway lessons, and plenty of them, even above the speed limit. If that means that driving schools need to use better cars, so be it. They could get one or two national B segment cars per school which are used to conduct highway lessons. Important is for example to teach what lane to use on the highway. Not sticking to the slow lane unless overtaking can cause many dangerous situations, like that Myvi/Pajero crash (why did the Pajero change lane just before the crash? Was he trying to avoid the Myvi?). In a country where people follow this rule there is less confusion, and thus a lower chance of a crash happening, despite high speed differences between road users.
Where is the police btw.? They need to patrol the roads and highways in unmarked cars with dashcams and changing number plates, and of course not wearing a visible uniform (but have badges to prove they are not fakes). Possible offenses are driving too fast, driving too slow (if it causes dangerous situations, such as on a highway), creatively creating new lanes, not wearing seatbelts or using child seats, changing lane without looking (there is already a car there, still try to change lane), overtaking on the slow lane, hogging the center or fast lane (you are only allowed to use the center or right lane when you are overtaking someone), queue cutting, … and you’ll never know if the car behind you is a police car, you could get caught any time. If you are (and it is recorded on video, there needs to be evidence) the cops will get a significant bonus, or perhaps the most successful cops will get bonuses at the end of the month, so they don’t have an incentive to take small bribes that won’t hurt. The fines can be based on the price and age of the car, so that the punishment isn’t out of proportion for poor people, and rich people can laugh them off.
Dont bother the driving school, if you add something in the syllabus they will increse the fee. Enforcement is everything, why want to wait for this and that ops. Make it everyday, dont just wait for ops. So people will drive in good manners every single day. Only take action on the viral topic in social media. Hope our country will be have better enforcement in every single aspect for a better nation.
major things that needs improvement;
– use modern cars.
– use something bigger than A segment cars so they won’t drive slowly when they passed their test and drive their parent’s big saloon / SUVs.
– Always remind them to drive on the left lane except when overtaking.
– Go back to the left lane after overtaking.
– TEACH THEM TO USE THE BLOODY TURN SIGNALS
i totally agree with u. b segment car should be used it driving school instead of using kancil, viva and now axia.
i really hate people who DON’T KNOW TO USE THEIR CAR SIGNAL
Although i am not a fan of Proton, but personally feel Iriz, being a B-segment hatchback are more suitable to be used in driving lesson. Plus it gives an opportunity for new learner drivers to test the difference in terms of car control when ESC turned off and when ESC turned on during driving lesson in Iriz (it’s consider bonus for new learner drivers) provided the circuit is wide enough to conduct. Indirectly this will encourage more new drivers to purchase a safer car (especially those comes with ESC).
Prefer at least Proton Saga, a saloon car. So learner will know how to drive car with longer boot.
Can proton just donate all the unsold Inspira & Preve to driving institutes so new drivers won’t drive so damn slowly when their parents let them drive a big car.
Should custom department do the same? Donate all seized vehicle (lambo, ferrari). What a cool learner using avantador for D license.
No syllabus that needs revamp.
No road rules/regulation needs restudy.
No need to have new driving schools.
Only need to change the mind set of drivers.
Only need to rid of those useless “kautim” jpj officers.
…but knowing some Malaysian…..they are idiots, kiasu, kaisi, lansi, etc……nothing gonna change anytime for now.
The problem is ppl MAY know the rules and regulations but after 2 to 3 weeks of driving on Msian roads it all goes out the window. Why? Because EVERYBODY else doesn’t follow the same rules and regulations. For example which correct lane to be in near the roundabout. Or vehicles on the right always has the right of way. Another common problem is that Msian drivers always follow other bad drivers. Just look at every time a car runs a red light, the car behind will surely do the same. Poor discipline.
Major revamp on driving school sylabus and method use is a must follow by cntinous enforcement.
Imagine driving school start with a kancil for new learner.
OMG aand then follow our special Package deal which gurantee a pass. em….. do we need aa revamp? you tell me.
how many of us , truethfully , actually paid under table to get the license bcos they keep failing u on purpose for u to pay…
If they are so keen on ‘improving’ drivers, they may as well train everyone to be rally drivers. At least when someone went on a road rage, everyone around knows how to react to their idiocrasies. If you are laughing, you probably should read on.
Simple reality is, nobody can predict or train someone to handle extreme stress, and when it pops, everything goes. Even soldiers who are trained to suppress emotions breaks down in difficult times. So the only realistic way to prepare the innocent bystanders are by training them to handle, control and react to such situation. Its as simple as; if everyone is trained in school to disarm an armed assailant, crime rates throughout the country would be incredible low. If ladies are trained in school to knock out potential attackers, rape cases would diminish.
Children don’t learn morale valued from books or classes, they learn from observing the elders actions. It’s a simple fact that logical people understands. Just like how children in rural areas compared to city kids are much more likely to aid a stranger in need instead of shying away screaming for help. If we take morale into question, the rural child is right. If we take a realistic approach, the city child plays it safe.
Message here is: Don’t be an idealist! Be a realist!
I observed all drivers when taking their driving test in JPJ will behave like an angel. All rules are adhered, ie; seat belt buckled up, indicator signals on when turning, check headlamps, etc. Once got their license, all these basic rules are forgotten.
So if implement additional syllabus, how efficient and effective will people put these rules of life into their mindset? Why not have medias like newspaper, magazines, billboard ads, and etc. to promote safe driving. So many unnecessary billboard ads on the highway and none of them even mention about road safety awareness like “have you buckle up yourself and your love ones”?
Another one of those No-Action-Talk-Only stuff again. The Malaysian government cannot even put a stop to the daily money-taking corruption tactics of the JPJ testers.