Malaysian social media has recently been up in arms after an article calling for the banning of underbone motorcycles or kapchais surfaced. The issue has been covered by paultan.org previously as far back as 2017, which you can read about here, here, here and here.
What should be noted is this call seems to have come out of the blue, without any reasoning aside from “the death rate amongst kapchai riders is high, therefore kapchais should be banned. While the motives of the person issuing the statement are yet to be determined, it is a fact that motorcyclists represent a disproportionate number of fatalities on Malaysian roads.
From police Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) statistics, motorcyclists are 6.2 times more likely to be involved in a traffic accident with death or serious injuries compared to riding in a car over the same travel distance. As a percentage of the road population in Malaysia, more than 60% of fatal road accidents involve motorcyclists.
But statistics are only half the story as no numbers were provided to indicate the cause of the accident. While it is easy to point a finger at those “crazy bikers” it should be remembered there is usually no single cause for a traffic accident.
A query directed to JSPT asking whether statistics were gathered as to the causation factor for accidents involving riders, the answer was a negative, in that the Accident Investigation Officer’s (AIO) finding was taken prima facie. This ignores the fact motorcyclists are often involved in accidents through external factors such as weather, bad road conditions and inattentive drivers, amongst others.
To that end, we approached Shahrol Yuzy, motorcycle racer and race team principal, and president of the Motorcycle Sports Association of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. Yuzy, as he is popularly known, had some rather forceful things to say about the calling of the ban on kapchais while forwarding some suggestions of his own as to how this issue should be dealt with in a manner equitable to all parties.
Yuzy started off by saying, “when I read about this (ban on kapchais) I was very upset. My first thought was who is this person to come out saying kapchais should be banned purely on safety grounds?” Yuzy continued by saying kapchais are an essential part of the transport ecosystem and the economy in Malaysia, and a ban would be a foolish thing to do.
“If they ban kapchais, how is the economy, the businesses in Malaysia, especially in urban areas, going to function?” said Yuzy. “The typical kapchai rider is from the B40 segment and cheap, reliable transport is necessary for them to go to work, to get provisions, to provide services such as food delivery and despatch. If you take away their only means of transport, how is this part of the economy going to function?” he added.
Yuzy added calling for a ban on kapchais just because the death rate is high for riders would call for the same analogy to be applied to examples like distracted drivers using handphones. “A driver using a handphone on the move is more likely to cause or get into an accident. Does that mean we should ban handphones?” said Yuzy.
Iterating that laws are already in place to ensure disciplined road behaviour whether amongst drivers or riders, Yuzy called for education to be stepped up instead. “A lot of problems with undisciplined road users is caused by a lack of education. Our driving school syllabus is only geared to teaching you what the road signs mean and how to pass the practical test. Once the “L” student gets his or her “P” plate, everything is forgotten,” Yuzy said.
Calling for road user education to begin at primary school level, Yuzy believes a solid foundation in proper road discipline and etiquette, whether for a driver, rider, cyclist or pedestrian, will bear fruit in the long run but efforts must start now. “Look at us in the 70s, we had road safety taught in class, campaigns at school level, road safety competitions sponsored by oil companies. Where is all that now?” asked Yuzy.
Parents also have a big role to play in this, said Yuzy. “Children follow by example. If they see dad riding through a red light or mum using a handphone while driving, they accept it as the norm and follow suit,” Yuzy added.
Yuzy also said he advocates making the driving license in Malaysia harder to get with refresher courses being made compulsory. “See the driving test in Germany or Japan. They make it very hard to get your licence but very, very easy to lose it. Things that come to you easy are not treasured,” added Yuzy with a smile.
Emphasising that in Malaysia too many drivers and riders feel they can get away with offences like speeding and using the handphone because they don’t get caught, Yuzy said enforcement needs to be stepped up. “And even if they do get caught, they do what? Pay RM150 or RM300 for the compound? That’s too easy,” says Yuzy with a shake of the head.
At the basis of it, Yuzy feels the negative perception of motorcycle riders is down to the riders themselves. “No one is asking you to ride like a demon on the road. What are you trying to prove? Nak tunjuk skill datang kat track (You want to show your skill, come to the track.)”
“A ban on kapchais does not make sense at all,” Yuzy said when rounding up the interview, “instead, the government should focus on proper road safety, better driver education and efficient public transport.” “It doesn’t matter if the kapchai is banned and replaced with electric motorcycles, if basic road safety is lacking, things will not change.”
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yeah seen a lot riders n drivers using phone whilst on the move… also riders wearing helmets without clip fasten.. cars changing lane without indicator.. etc
Huh?
“when I read about this (ban on kapchais) I was very upset. My first thought was who is this person to come out saying kapchais should be banned purely on safety grounds?”
This mentality has got to go.
Safety > all… economy hobby etc.
Try having trillions without health (still alive though)
Sigh!
just ban je,,,all those troublemakers
say goodbye to your foodpanda and grabfood. you need to get food by yourselves from now on.
and say hello to huge spike in number of cars on the road hahaha
And normal 500m toll queue will become 2km
The problem is the rider and not the “kapcai.”
Problem is the human, not the vehicle. If one is a reckless driver / rider, no matter which type of vehicle you are handling, you are actually a murderer on the road.
Stupid la if ban kapcai! Our roads will be totally flooded by cars if they ban kapcai!!!! You should be thanking riders that they don’t mind driving bikes! KL roads is already packed with cars. Doing this would cause a deadlock. Use brain pls
People that cannot afford a car, so the minister will but them a car is it?
A lot of motorcyclist own a car.I myself own a Honda HRV but still ride a Honda ADV 150 to go to work.Many of my colleague ride too..It is too save time and avoid traffic jams.If suddenly ban all kapchais,City road will be flooded with people driving cars..The evening rush will turn to a massive gridlock.
Rather than banning kapchais, banning reckless riders or increase the punishments for illegal racing would be a smarter move
You ask a mat rempit, of course he upset la. Why don’t you ask an ordinary road user that just want to go home after working a night shift.
It’s all about business, banning kapchai cut off revenue for kapchai modder business. Definitely kapchai modder business stakeholder is really pissed off
Why don’t you ask an ordinary wage earner who cannot even go to work because of this ban?
Take public transport. Don’t give stupid excuses.
Says the ignoramus unaware nuances of urban transports, public and private.
Hello, you OK or not? No kapchai how you get your GrabFood? Instead of paying RM5 for delivery you want to pay RM15 issit?
Kapcais are the movers of the economy, banning it is wrong. Shahrul Yuzy is 200% correct – fix the rider, not the machine. A gun is as harmful as its owner.
A car as good a battering ram as its driver.
Well written. Blanket ban is never a good idea to absolutely squash a problem. What also needs to be done is enforcement, enforcement, enforcement. Education takes years (no doubt it is one of the best ways) but if you have road users thinking there will not be any consequences, you can expect the status quo for many more decades.
I love this country but it is such an eyesore when you constantly see this particular demographic of road users (generalising, of course) behaving lawlessly. No more turning a blind eye.
The issue is not the bike it’s the person for riding it !
It’s time to promote electric kapchais
who is this shahrul guy?
if you dunno how to read properly, please go to school. same like those riders, need reeducation.
Accident nothing to do with kapchai
It due to
1) attitude of driver (cross during red light and so on.
2) road condition. (Including road design and road line visibility)
3) visibility of road (roadline, lamp post functional, reflector and so on)
4) motorcycle preventive maintenance.
.. list mayb go on.
Banning kapcai will not solve the issue. But may increase the accident rate on other option of vehicle.
Well rounded argument. Kudos.
These accident involved kapsai 80% is not reported one.. Why becoz claim insurance also no use…
Those damn things should be ban for good!
Ban exhaust shops better. I hate those noisy idiots.
A chicken and egg situation here. Educate the riders, educate the other road users and finally as a last resort (and the costliest fix), fix the roads and include the signage. Banning is only as a last resort but that would be stupid really because other neighbouring countries are even more congested but has nothing like our accident rate
“The typical kapchai rider is from the B40 segment and cheap, reliable transport is necessary for them to go to work, to get provisions, to provide services such as food delivery and despatch. If you take away their only means of transport, how is this part of the economy going to function?”
Well, in most developed countries there’d be reliable and cheap public transportations.
The problems is with the people not the vehicle. Better education and heavier penalties are better solution for this problem.
Just ban them. Nuisance on the road with several having modified exhausts. Gov should drive electric bikes & give a good trade in value to encourage them to switch in a time span.
Maaf kalau saya katakan, sikap adalah punca utama. Cuba tuan2 yg pernah melawat negara seperti Indonesia. Penunggang dan pemandu di sana sangat berhemah, sedangkan di sana bilangan pengguna jalan raya berkali ganda ramai berbanding kita. Sikap negatif kita, pentingkan diri, tidak beri laluan, tidak bertolak ansur, langgar lampu merah, memotong double line, potong Q dan banyak lagi. Tak kira sapa kita, doktor, lebai, student, professional, pion- sama sahaja sikap kita bila memandu/menunggang.
Viral recently, the cover of a lorry fell of on to coming traffic and wrapped itself around kapchai riders causing accident and almost got them killed. Ban the bloody lorries then!
Agree with Yuzy on education and improved driving license courses so we can get rid of dangerous riding/driving and the assholes who drive with fog lights on for no effing reason!
The biggest issue in Malaysia is enforcement or lack thereof. Try driving even without using your indicator overseas, you’ll get fined. I’m not even surprised if half the riders on the road don’t have a licence. Some riders are just suicidal. It’s definitely not the bike that kills people, it’s mostly due to their attitude.
It’s the right way for rulers to ban kapchai to be replaced by electric scooter for low power motorcyccle segment.
human problem, vehicle drivers also like shit and no basics. let go back to the basics.
The motorcycle is also classified as a motor vehicle.
Remember the policeman who got busted riding bike witn illegal mods? Let’s put our dashcams to work. These reckless idiots need to be saved from their own stupidity.
Sepatutnya yang mencadang motor kapcai diharamkan ni tengok dulu apa sebab pembonceng motor bnyak mati… antra sebab nya ada sikap pemandu kereta yang segelintirnya biadap dan taknpernah alert akan persekitaran jalan raya… tukar laluan tanpa signal… masuk dari simpang sesuka hati… saya pun baru kene semalam … pemandu teksi yang kurangvajar keluar terus dari Petronas rahman putra sg buloh.. bila saya marah dia x mengakubsalah pulak…
Sounds like science fiction. But the fast 50cc bikes (up to 14hp) were banned in Germany in the late 1970s and the ultra-fast 125cc bikes (i.e. Aprilia AF1, Cagiva Freccia) were banned in Italy in 1996…
Awang rempit punya hal, tak pasal kapcai kena ban. Oklah, kasi ban kapcai, bawak masuk 3 wheeler aka tut tut. Harga kasi murah macam kapcai. Mesti tak ada lagi rempit, tukar nama jadi rempeyek
Because kapcais dont have brakes. Everytime a car changes lane, kapcais honk from miles away because they refuse to stop once they r moving.
There are already parents on kapchais riding around the neighbourhood with their young kids, without wearing helmets. Older kids are also doing the same, not only without helmets but also without valid licence & supervision. And when mata2 peronda cruise by, they close one eye. Hopefully this won’t be the long term keluarga Malaysia mentality.
ban kapchai … is treating the symptoms and not the root cause.
what is the root cause? and solve the root cause… that’s the way.
Don’t ban the victims, ban the culprits.
How many kapchai riders are killed by:
– Kapachai
– motorcycles
– cars
– trucks
– buses?
Make the roads safer by banning the vehicles that kill people, not the victims.
In that case, the roads will have only pedestrians, cyclists, riders on horses, horse drawn carriages & bullock carts…
IMO, accident doesn’t cause by kapchai. accident is cause by the person who behind the wheel. it doesn’t matter kapchai, superbike, car, lorry, bus or even kereta kebal. if the person is maniac/brainless driver/rider it will ride or drive like maniac.
I support this banning ownership of kapchais, such a nuisance. Those riders always run red lights, ride the opposite way of traffic, modding their exhaust and make it sound so damn irritating. Perhaps companies should lease scooters to riders and regulate the condition of the bikes regularly and introduce merit points system to riders.
The real issue is not the kapchai, rather its the delinquent motorcyclists. why are we penalising the equipment? Are they not confirming to the safety standards set by JPJ, Puspakom or JKJR? We need to focus on the delinquents and use appropriate law to punish them. With better enforcements and education for the motorcyclists, hopefully we can stop those unnecessary deaths.
ban myvi too… while at it ban the lorries, handphone and in-car entertainment system… Let’s just pay attention on the road while be a thoughtful and courteous driver.