Punish the errant, but reward the considerate and careful – the Transport Ministry says it is taking into consideration proposals by the public to award incentives to law-abiding road users, The Star reports.
Transport minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said that the suggestion to reward those who obey the law came from public feedback on the Kejara demerit points system and the Automated Enforcement System. “This is to recognise the good drivers and those who obey the law rather than only penalising the offenders,” he told reporters.
Among the suggestions, he said, were for an upgrade of driving licences if motorists were free of traffic offences or accidents, the level depending on the number of years that the motorist is free of such offences. “With the licence upgrades, one can get a better premium for their insurance,” he explained.
Earlier in the week, the government announced that the Kejara demerit points system will be implemented as soon as possible. Confirming the move, Liow said that Kejara was being put in place because it would make motorists obey the rules and traffic procedures. He said there was no easy way out when it came to road safety. “We need to have discipline and we need to obey the traffic rules,” he stated.
Liow added that a Cabinet committee – led by DPM Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – will be set up to look into an integrated plan on how road accidents can be reduced. “I’m confident that this will help reduce the number of road accident deaths by 10% this year,” Liow said.
He added that he was targeting to lower the figure by 10% annually. Last year, 6,706 lives were lost through road accidents, while 6,674 fatalities were recorded in 2014.
What do you think of the proposals to reward careful and law-abiding motorists, and what kind of incentives should be given? Share your thoughts about the matter below.
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you can start with free road tax
unfair for those motor owner..just rm2 for 1year.. should start with free 5years FOC renew driving license with 1year interval.. once 2nd year got demerit..automatic forfit for the 4yrs foc
thats never going to happen tho!
Good idea! Better premium for insurance should be implemented as well.
Or a free upgrade from B2 to full B license without retake the course.
I prefer free car insurance
Very hard to be law abiding driver in msia when those using emergency lane/ hit the red light never being punished…. Everybody got tempted to follow
No need to pay road tax and license~
Why do the government think that a reward system will work better than the punishment system? They will suffer from the same problem. The lack of enforcement. Who’s going catch the good driver, who decides what’s good and what’s back. We have video’s of Mat Rempit selit selit between cars and then bang into a car changing lane without signaling and the Mat Rempit has the gall to post this on a bad driver complain site.
Point 1, The problem with our traffic system is this (and this extends to our whole government). We have a licensing system that’s corrupt and breeds really bad drivers. You can “pow” your licenses. That should always be the place we weed out dangerous and crazy driver.
Point 2, we have people thinking that driving crazy is acceptable (driving on the emergency lane, cutting people off, tail gating, etc). We need to start a demerit system to get this people off the road. And for the demerit system to work, we need constant and non-corrupt enforcement. See point 1).
Oh no. Read between the lines.
Risk based Insurance is a coming!
Safe and courteous driver as well as with a safe car (ie cars must be equipped with stability control and if possible, six airbags and scored full 5 star safety rating) indeed should be rewarded with lowest insurance premium rate. However, before one is entitled for driving license upgrade, they are compulsory to attend defensive driving session.
Yes, we need 80% Discount on Roadtax or Insurance.. Maybe you can’t get free things in Malaysia, so a big discount will be a good move to reward obedient drivers.. If you can punish drivers for tinting window almost 2-4k and 6-12months jail, why trying to ‘consider’ for rewarding them?? Easy to suck money but difficult to give back.. So better reward all of us..
How would you implement kejara in the rural area where 12 year old children are blissfully riding their kapcais ?Are Traffic laws only applicable in urban area? And laws of the jungle applies for folks in the rural area? Bear in mind that with the rural urban migration, the same jungle law will follow them too.
I think the reward system is a positive reinforcement to influence behavior change.
The current situation we’re in with reference to our country’s driver ethos are caused by a lack of awareness on how bad/inconsiderate they are driving.
Better still, change the learner’s driving education a bit lah. Include basics of defensive,safety and advanced driving techniques into requirements to acquire a driving/riding license.
I went on a defensive driving course the other day, and its awesome.
Those with 6-7 years of clean record from age of 18-30 should be rewarded with RM 15K. Just a thought
Attitude..is the word..even you have the best education and system..human still a human..arrogant, mad, selfish, stress drivers are everywhere…if you are lucky on the road sometimes we may find also kind and understanding drivers but the chances are less nowadays..
Cash rewards is the best.
A loop hole. How about those slow drivers that always make jam? Reward them at the same time?
Reward for good driving behavior? Am I the only one who think this is ridiculous? Rather than wasting tax payers money, just concentrate on improving car safety equipments in the first place. Stop sales for those ABS-less and ESP-less cars first. Then improve road condition and lighting. Be more stringent with commercial vehicle test. Lastly, go catch those offenders and that’s the best reward you can offer to fellow Malaysian drivers.
This is like a fresh breeze after the stink of threats from enforcers and the focus on bad behaviour of road demons. Could work. Kudos to MOT.