LETTER | Road accidents in the country getting worse

LETTER | News about two people killed after a lorry crashed into vehicles in Putrajaya today once again affirms that our roads are “killing fields”.

Despite all the laws, fines, increased tech surveillance, countless “Ops” by police, and uncountable warnings by the authorities - our roadways are turning into unpredictable, dangerous and high-risk pathways to commute these days.

I, for one, often use the route where this lorry ploughed through and took away precious two lives.

And I dare say that I have encountered numerous times lorries speeding and cutting lanes - not to mention motorcyclists raging through like they are in a “do or die” race.

Netizens have voiced so much concern, made suggestions and written about our dangerously eroding road safety but it appears that no one really cares. There is no improvement.

It also appears that things are set to get worse. The writings are in the annual statistics.

Lives lost. Property lost. Time lost. Damage done. It definitely is becoming the biggest liability hammering away at us and the nation's reputation too.

One, unless and until we increase enforcement presence on all our roadways 24/7 - like in Thailand, let us stop bluffing ourselves with all the punitive measures and periodic road safety “Ops” - on top of the high-cost “canggih” (smart) tech installations along roads.

Two, unless and until we confiscate commercial vehicles and compound their business owners for law-breaking, there is going to be no resolution anytime in the near or distant future.

Looks like we may now have to add another “R” to our 3R (race, religion, royalty) dilemma, which is “road rage” as our national battle.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.