In a report by The Sun Daily, the Road Safety Council (MKJR) of Malacca recently proposed that driving licence holders aged 50 years and above be required to undergo health screenings as a precautionary measure against unsafe driving, similar to that in developed countries.
Malacca MKJR secretary Ghafar Misdar tabled the proposal during the annual general meeting (AGM) of the National Road Safety Council, which drew support from Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Aziz Kaprawi.
However, Aziz was of the opinion that such a safety programme for older drivers should involve those aged 65 years and above instead of 50. He added that as a starting point, a test for eyesight be required for affected drivers.
“Fifty years old is too young. This proposal for older drivers needs to be studied carefully. At the ministry level, it can be considered but we need to get (feedback from) all stakeholders before we can make a decision,” he said.
Aziz also touched upon a recent policy by the Malaysian Motor Insurance Pool (MMIP), whereby insurance coverage will not be provided to commercial vehicle drivers aged above 65 years. “The MMIP move was a cue for the authorities to have a thorough discussion about a future policy for drivers consisting of senior citizens,” he said.
The proposal is deemed timely due to the increasing number of drivers among senior citizens lately, which would continue to rise in the foreseeable future, according to Ghafar.
“No disrespect to older drivers with long experience in driving but this is an important proposal because they seem to be at higher risk of collisions because of functional impairments,” he said. Health screenings would provide a benchmark to determine the capability of older drivers in spite of common age-related health symptoms.
Beyond discussions on the mandatory health screenings for older drivers, the Malacca MKJR also proposed at the AGM that urine tests be conducted for new driving licence holders.
“There are two risky groups on the road – the young drivers especially motorcyclists because of their risky driving behaviour, and older drivers with their greater physical frailty and vulnerability to injury when involved in a collision,” Ghafar explained.
In the end, the proposal for mandatory health screening for older drivers was rejected by the AGM, and will require some fine tuning before it is discussed in next year’s AGM. On the other hand, the urine test proposal was accepted, and will be brought up to the Transport Ministry for further consideration.
What do you think of the proposals discussed at the the National Road Safety Council? Should older drivers be required to undergo mandatory health screenings to determine their capability behind the wheel? Must new driving licence holders undergo urine tests? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
I would recommend the behavioral test be done on women drivers too.
Changing lane abruptly, driving slow on the fast lane while doing make up, stop in the middle of road to pick up kids from school. Too many lah.
not all of them, but i seconded..
This is just another way to make big money for a crony. Just like Puspakom given to billionaire Syed Mokhtar. Puspakom is just to make money and that also FREE money.
The biggest joke is that, even brand new cars from the factory must get Puspakom certification and that also must pay Puspakom. Puspakom is supposed to be like MOTS in the UK. You certify used cars to see road worthiness. you telling me brand new cars by BMW, Mercedes, Honda, Toyota and Nissan from the factory not road worthy?
Billions masuk pocket certifying brand new cars in Malaysia
Do you know there are 3 million motorist on Malaysian roads without licence? this is official figure.
So, 2 million out of 10 million motorist are illegal. Now you know why so many accidents.
how did it baloon up to 3 million? Very simple. Over the years, PDRM and JPJ makan duit kopi when they catch these no lesen people. So, over 20 years, it has grown bigger and bigger and bigger.
That is why Malaysia has thousands of lorry hantu that kill thousands of people every year. The driver just runs away and PDRM cannot find the driver. Instead of prosecuting the company owning the lorry for the death, PDRM say NFA
And small cars driving slowly leaving huge gap on the fast lane
1. Good one, John. I mentioned multiple times.
2. Mandatory health screening for those ageg above 50 years if they are driving commercial vehicles or any vehicle with kerb weight above certaing kg (2000?) and above certain length (5.2m ?)
3. 60 years and above (retirement age) for smaller private vehicles.
4. Total ban for those above 75 years. They are endangering other people.
5. I mentioned these before already.
6. Now, one new one: the health screening fees have to be paid to JPJ first, and then doctors claimed from JPJ; there should not be drivers paying doctors directly. The result is confidential, meaning that the reports are submitted directly to JPJ instead of handling over to drivers. Do good to the community.——–Alternatively, only doctors working with government are allowed to do the screening tests for drivers. No conflict of interest.
7. All drivers involved in major accidents should be sent for proper specialist medical & psycological assessments to decide on their fitness to drive and possess driving lincences.
8. Commercial vehicle drivers who cause deaths of others should be infinitely suspended from driving commercial vehicles for the rest of their lives. They can still drive their Vios after 5-year suspension.
Pitiful view. The worst by far the worst drivers are MEN 17-80 years old who drive according to rank:
1. Wira – modified (confirm maniac driver)
2. Myvi – white (usually from Jinjang/Cheras)
3. Vios – white (usually from Ampang/Cheras)
4. Iswara – modified with blue light underneath (usually from Sentul/Cheras)
Keep your sexism away, not needed here, not needed anywhere.
Female driver nowadays like driving on drugs increasingly. Driving with head looking on the roof of car, so worry they cant see my rear n ram it. Both eyes n mouth Flirting on phones smiling with car still moving, so worry the pedestrians in front. Cutting into lane without signals, i dont mean the light signal, i mean “no signals” whatsoever at all, so worry on heart risk ppl. Squish into illogical space between cars as if they r walking on feet, pity the car left n right. Driving huge suv or van just to pick up a single child and park as if they r driving motor n pretend their bigger car can defy law of physics n wont get scratch or flat tyre or can stay planted on high speed bends. Whenever they r so wrong, look blank into the front without blinking pretending they do not aware u r staring at them btw their heart beat so fast. To most, however pretty u r, seeing such women behind the wheel seems so unsexy at all. With all such demonic behavior in the car, they can switch back to super innocent mode the second their foot step out of the car. Guess what, their naive pretending once out of car just make everything worst. Who dont knw bout that?
The problem is not health. It is attitude. Go solve this first.
Thats the hardest part to solve
Looking at our current state we’ll need a minimum of one generation’s time to change peoples attitude if we start now
However since its getting worst by the day, i think your choice is to either moved to a more civilized country or live with it
Ask for 6 airbags, VSC, EBS, ABD and harp about safety but still dont use signal, hog the fast lane and whatsapp while driving
Ask for cheap car but double park or dont want to pay for carpark
Just wonder what is the ration between old and young drivers who crashed their vehicles and died.
I find many senior people drive slowly but carefully. This idea to screen for health must a crony plan to make free money from the people.
There is a gov hospital that can run a full medical checkup. No need crony and the fees a fix, and JPJ should impose checkup must be done in Gov hospital. Everything that gov plan to do, it is all about crony? Dude, don’t insult the MY civil servant, some of them are working hard to make a better MY. Of course it is not 100% perfect, but which system in this world is 100%? Like what Henry said, The problem is not health. It is attitude.
Any stats to backup such claims or perception that Senior citizens are contributing a large portion of collisions?
If it is just all to do with perceptions, well, my perceptions are accidents mainly due to:
1. corruption exists in the system to allow bad drivers on the road.
2. Poorly design road system as certain areas are accident hot zones.
3. Traffic law enforcements are poor, again due to perceived corruption.
4. behavioral issues of drivers, including riders and commercial vehicles drivers.
5. Malaysian pay top dollar for cars without basic safety features.
My list could go on… but senior citizen risk wouldn’t make top 10 in my perceptions.
Rightly so, None I would suspect.
They are not too good with numbers and statistics.
Having mandatory testing for drivers aged 50 and above is absurd. You are expected to work till 60, assuming by that, you are required to have the mental and physical ability to work.
So if you can still be expected to work, why can’t you not have the physical and mental ability to drive?
Sounds like more ways to wring more money from the people.
The biggest problem with unsafe drivers are as the following;
1) Distraction
2) Lack of respect for traffic laws
3) Lack of proper drivers training and experience (and as mentioned above, Kopi license)
4) Driving inappropriate speeds
I would dare say, those are not attributes of a matured driver (maybe item 4 by driving too slowly).
LOL… Some cronies going to be given the contract for Health Screening…
No need crony. Just do your checkup at the gov hospital.
Read the article. They suggesting those aged 65 years and above instead of 50. Even there is no stats to backup that Senior citizens are contributing a large portion of accidents, the logic is there. No senior citizen are allow to operate such a dangerous machinery and not to mention a moving car is a dangerous machinery.
if there is no stats, how do you know whether 18 year old driver or a 65 year old driver is more dangerous? And if the stats clearly shows that senior citizen is not a high risk group, why than give them the inconvenience? For all you know, older people are more sensible. They know better themselves as to whether they could or couldn’t drive, without putting their own life in danger.
If you have no stats, you don’t know the problem. and therefore you can’t prescribe the solution.
With the increasing number of aged voters, it would be highly unlikely for politicians to see this through especially with the core of the current government being backed by the older generation. They might as well propose an additional levy on drivers aged over 40 for all the good that will do. And urine test for young drivers? Have they checked with KJ?
Why check only urine? Shouldn’t they be checking blood samples too, to determine one’s health condition, in addition to eyesight test. Also, I think 50 is too low, cos the retirement age is now 60. What reasoning is there for requiring screening at 50? Shld just follow retirement age lah
There is really no need to ‘think’ whether 50 or 60 or 65.
Plucking the numbers from air without proper study is pointless. A comprehensive study would show which age group is giving the problem.
They should do it on those with Rempit record one.
Go ahead and implement all the laws and policies you want, but at the business end of it all, at the enforcement level if corruption exists, all these efforts are just a waste of resources, and high accident rates will persist due to negligence.
Elements of corruption in the process of regulation need to be address.
Otherwise this is just another avenue of graft for those in position.
can i propose politician more than 50 years old to go test also? many i see not fit to become politician…
put PM 1st lah.. nanti “jangan personal” ok!!
In japan we have to go through 1hour lecture on road safety and eyesight test everytime we renew our driving license
Make sure all drivers/riders know what is a turn signal for and when to use it first…
Does it mean that car safety features like 10 airbags are to be made mandatory to reduce fatalities or are you referring to all accidents from minor to the more serious kind involving fatalities, BTW you have already presumed guilty before reality.
They cannot solve the mindless rempit menace so now they go after old passive citizens instead
Ya, rempit too hard to tackle. Street racing project canned.
So now they go bully the senior citizens.
Have to be seen doing something lah.
Just seeing that guy on the bike automatically implies that he runs red traffic lights, give space to no one, drive on the right lane on highways, and general ‘exemplary’ road attitude…
those traffic law breaker drivers also must get screening including mental health……. regardless of age or who they are….before they can drive back….
is this another way to make money from the citizen? do it if it is free of charge.
Why not go to check all the lorry and bus driver first? They are contributing most of the accident too…
We have more than enough laws.Its the enforcement that is lacking and the endemic corruption. Many law breakers are aligned to the BN political parties and will not be prosecuted. We have seen enough and we have said enough. Anything new is for the cronies. Period.
What studies have been done to back up these claims? Most senior citizens encountered on the road do drive safely. It’s the able bodied, young people that drive dangerously most of the time, regardless of having a kopi-o or non kopi-o licence and regardless of gender/sex. Also, there seems to be an illness in Malaysia where people like to drive slowly on the fast lane. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather spend my time doing things rather than commuting slowly from one place to another. Impose a minimum speed for all vehicles. These slow moving anomalies are hazards on the road.
Also, people nowadays work well beyond their 60s and public transport is A REALLY BIG JOKE in Malaysia. Unless you can actually plan and build proper roads with proper signage and provide good public transport with good connectivity between places, please don’t impose stupid requirements on the people of Malaysia.
Old man drive carefully no need ABS EBD..most who die fast and furious are those ah bengs driving Wira Satria Vios City Mivi …all such drivers should go for Mandatory Mental checkup every MONTH
The proposed action being considered by the authorities is a step in the right direction. In fact, this course of action is long overdue taking into consideration the high rate of motor vehicle accidents in the country. I’m not saying that these accidents are caused by elderly people, but perhaps it would be helpful to the authorities to compile data on accidents involving the elderly so that it will help them in their deliberations as regards to the suitable cut-off age for the elderly to be considered fit to drive based on their age. But definitely 50 is too early to curtail them from driving. To my mind, we should follow the insurance company’s example of accepting seniors to be considered insurable according to their age. I think the current practice is to accept seniors for insurance up to the age of 70 and after that on a case by case basis. There are some insurance companies willing to accept insurance coverage for seniors up to age 80 but this is, as I said on a case by case basis. In addition to this, I would propose that the authorities also require these seniors to be certified by a medical practitioner as to their ability to operate a motor vehicle in view of their age. One must remember that there are some seniors who are still very agile at age 80 while a younger senior, say of age 65, may not be so agile (probably due to medical reasons). That’s the reason I proposed each case be considered on a case by case basis subject to certification from a medical practitioner and eligibility for insurance. I think the relevant authorities should take this matter up seriously and not delay it any further.
Go after the lorry drivers who hog the middle lane.
Firstly, we are far from being a developed country. Therefore emulating UK for example may not be ideal.
Secondly, focus on the main issues,
1. Thousands riding around without licenses , helmets.
2. Hardly anyone stops at traffic lights at many areas in the country.
3. Most don’t care about road traffic laws.
4. Not enough parking lots anywhere..
Plus 1000 other issues.
What are the authorities doing about this?