Latest news with #Suret
The Star
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Star
‘Drivers' mental health must be addressed as well'
PETALING JAYA: While authorities readily crack down on vocational drivers as part of road safety measures, the mental health of these drivers remains a largely unattended area. Road Safety Council of Malaysia executive council member Datuk Suret Singh (pic) said while other aspects such as the driving record of vocational drivers are often scrutinised as part of road safety enhancement, the need for reforms to protect mental health appears to have been overlooked. He pointed out that among the most pressing reforms needed for commercial drivers is doing away with the current trip-based wage system. With a decent basic pay along with benefits such as PERKESO and EPF, drivers could then be offered a lower commission for the trips they make. Currently, it is quite common for commercial vehicle drivers to be hired on a contractual basis, with only a basic pay of between RM500 and RM700 per month that only incentivises them to 'chase trips'. Suret emphasised that the number of trips and working hours should be regulated to ensure drivers receive adequate rest. 'Trip-based wages lead to drivers chasing after their income to meet their targets, and they end up putting in long hours and violating the maximum eight-hour driving allowed per day. 'Some drivers are known to clock 16 hours, and over time, this may cause severe fatigue and affect their health,' Suret said, adding that employers should treat their drivers as people and not machines. 'The human mind and body can only withstand so much. When extreme fatigue sets in, it can be dangerous to the driver and other road users. 'A brief loss of focus or microsleep can end in a deadly tragedy. 'Hence, employers should treat their driver with compassion and limit their working hours before it takes a toll on their health,' the former Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research chairman told The Star. Suret said drivers should also be given a promotion and recognition based on their performance, and expressed hope that in the near future, a formal system will be introduced to grade vocational drivers according to their experience and driving records. 'Such a system would pave a career path and give drivers a sense of being recognised as professionals. It will also motivate them to uphold high standards of conduct behind the wheel.' Echoing similar sentiments is Malaysian Road and Transpor-tation Safety Association adviser and former president Nik Mohd Salim Nik Mohd Salleh, who agreed that vocational drivers should receive a decent minimum wage. 'Without minimum wage, vocational drivers are left with no other choice but squeeze as many trips as possible into a day, without realising risks such as fatigue and microsleep,' he said.
The Star
11-06-2025
- The Star
Registry can take habitual offenders off the road, say experts
PETALING JAYA: Driving licences of habitual traffic offenders must be suspended automatically to prevent them putting the lives of others at risk, say experts. Drivers of commercial vehicles with multiple unpaid summonses or those involved in fatal accidents must also have their driving licences withdrawn immediately, they said. In fact, there should be a national registry of reckless drivers, said Assoc Prof Dr Law Teik Hua, who is head of Universiti Putra Malaysia's Road Safety Research Centre. The Road Transport Department (JPJ), he said, needs to be empowered to suspend driving licences of offenders without the need of a court order. Stricter enforcement with the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cameras and real-time databases should also be in place to identify repeat offenders and immobilise their vehicles until they settle the fines. 'There should also be a registry that blacklists or bans repeat offenders from renewing licences or owning vehicles. 'To further boost road safety, telemetries must be mandated for all heavy vehicles. Global positioning systems and AI can monitor speed, fatigue, and maintenance in real-time. This can save lives,' Law told The Star. Road Safety Council of Malaysia executive council member Datuk Suret Singh said the suspension of driving licences under the demerit points for traffic offences system (Kejara) has failed. 'How could a driver with 18 summonses, with most of it for speeding, be allowed on the road? 'He should have faced severe action. This goes to show that the Kejara system has failed us,' he said. The driver in the Gerik bus crash in which 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris students were killed has 18 outstanding summonses, 13 of them for speeding. Suret said the law only allows the suspension of driving licences through Kejara or a court order. However, he said drivers with three or more summonses for serious offences such as speeding and beating traffic lights should face instant suspension of their driving licences. 'There is a critical need for the weaknesses of Kejara to be fixed. 'Let us learn to be proactive and not reactive only after more than a dozen people died in an accident,' he said. He said the compulsory use of seatbelts in buses could also minimise casualties. 'The Gerik tragedy may not have seen such grave consequences if seatbelts were used. Speed limiters are another feature that may address speeding by commercial vehicles. 'However, these devices are often tampered with by operators. There should be a feature that alerts the authorities when this happens,' Suret said. Crime Consciousness and Public Safety Society chairman Datuk Mohamad Anil Shah Abdullah agreed that there are weaknesses in the Kejara system as demerit points take effect only when a summons is paid and not when it is issued. 'If the offender does not pay up, they are not subject to demerit points. 'We need to re-examine the Kejara mechanism to see that it effectively addresses reckless driving,' said the former police senior assistant commissioner. Meanwhile, the Malaysian Academic Association Congress urged the government to draw up a comprehensive national action plan to implement speed monitoring systems and driver alert mechanisms for all public transport vehicles.
New Straits Times
16-05-2025
- New Straits Times
FRU crash: Road safety experts question need for yet another task force
KUALA LUMPUR: Road safety experts have questioned the need for yet another task force to look into the fatal accident involving a lorry and a police truck that killed nine Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) members. Former Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) chairmen Datuk Suret Singh and Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, along with Universiti Putra Malaysia Road Safety Research Centre head Associate Professor Dr Law Teik Hua, said task forces had already been formed for fatal crashes in the past. These include the 2013 Genting Highlands bus crash, which killed 37 people, and the more recent Ayer Keroh collision involving five vehicles, which left seven dead and 33 injured. Even the findings and recommendations of those earlier task forces remained unknown to many, they said. "Every time there is a major accident, you will see knee-jerk reactions. How many of the recommendations from experts have been implemented? When are we going to get serious?" asked Suret, a member of the Malaysian Road Safety Council. He said the fundamental issue was the lack of fear of the law among road users and transport companies. As a former Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) safety advisor, Suret said during his time there, the Industrial Code of Safety Practice was introduced as part of licensing conditions backed by strict enforcement and company suspensions. "At the time, we saw that heavy vehicles were 'behaving' and there was a drop in accidents," he told the New Straits Times. "But somewhere down the road, enforcement became lax and the nonsense started again." Suret said it was encouraging that Transport Minister Anthony Loke had ordered safety audits into heavy vehicles involved in accidents. "We hope that the authorities will publish the audit findings and disclose which companies have been suspended," he said. Dr Law said following the Genting crash, an independent advisory panel proposed 51 measures but only 22 were reportedly implemented. "Despite these steps, underlying issues such as corruption, outdated enforcement practices and a lack of proactive oversight continue to undermine the effectiveness of such initiatives," he said. While task forces can identify shortcomings and initiate reforms, Law said the persistence of fatal road accidents points to a deeper, systemic failure. "This includes revamping vehicle inspection protocols, upgrading enforcement mechanisms, and tackling corruption within the relevant agencies. "Unless these foundational issues are addressed, we are likely to see a recurrence of tragic accidents," he said. Meanwhile, Lee called on the government to revisit the findings of previous reports by independent panels and task forces formed after major crashes. Lee, who chaired an independent advisory panel on the Genting crash, said there had been little to no follow-up. For the record, the panel he led was separate from the SPAD-led task force set up immediately after the Genting incident. His panel called for, among others, a full audit of the vehicle approval, licensing and inspection processes; speed limiters for heavy vehicles; compulsory Safety Star Grading by Miros; a national driver profiling system and the formation of an independent National Transportation Safety Board. Subsequently, then-transport minister Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai announced the formation of the Malaysian Transport Safety Board (MTSB), tasked with independent investigations and oversight. He had said the remaining recommendations were being pursued by relevant agencies, with implementation statuses to be published online. "We raised key points back then, and those recommendations remain relevant," Lee said.
