If someone runs around a packed market square brandishing a parang, we will most definitely charge him/her with attempted murder or some related crime, notwithstanding injuries to anyone. If someone unsuccessfully tries to commit suicide, we will charge the person with a crime for doing so.

Reckless drivers who endanger their own lives and more worryingly other innocent lives, are no different. This category of maniacs should be charged with the same crime: attempted murder or manslaughter. It may seem draconian, but only shock and scare tactics will work with reckless drivers.

Many have long been concerned with our driving standards and road ethics, but nothing good seem to have come out, despite many letters to the press and government initiatives on road safety.

I reckon the bad state of our road safety is due to three simple but important reasons (in descending order of importance): bad driving attitude and ethics, insufficient prosecution, and bad road conditions. I think our laws are sufficient, but like everything else in Malaysia, every time there is a problem, our knee-jerk reaction is to suggest amending relevant laws that will be just a exercise in futility if the three above criteria is not looked at first.

Let me start with bad attitude. Children pick up driving habits from their parents, not driving instructors. If parents drive badly, children will come to treat poor driving as acceptable. Bad ethics extend to all things done with the car: double parking to avoid paying for parking, blocking traffic because we want to stop and wait right in front of a shop, overtaking without signalling, switching lanes without indicating, creating additional lanes when stuck in traffic jams are just some of our ingrained habits.

Ask anyone you know, and they will grudgingly admit committing traffic offences on a daily basis. These may encompass waiting in yellow boxes, tailgating the car in front, the list goes on.

Society is oblivious to bad road manners. They have become numb to do anything about it or even worse, they themselves are the culprits. It is not surprising that society tolerates bad drivers, even when they pose far greater danger to our safety than compared to say an Aids victim, who poses no danger to us if one follows basic guidelines.

Having lived abroad, it is an extremely scary to be on a Malaysian road for the first time upon returning. Other civilised countries also have their fair share of festive breaks, in fact more cars take to the road than here, but the carnage on the roads are minimal.

Heavy and commercial vehicles are the big bullies - overtaking cars without warning as they just don't give two hoots about other road users. These drivers need special classes. Perhaps those caught for traffic offences should be send to rehabilitation classes.

This brings us nicely down to our second problem: inadequate prosecution. The police should forget about setting speed traps on highways, but focus on federal and trunk roads, including city roads. The breeding ground for bad behaviour is not the highway - it starts on our everyday roads.

My friends were horrified when I suggested that police sharpshooters at traffic lights should be empowered to shoot those who beat traffic lights without warning. It may be draconian but it may just work, especially on those loony motorcyclists.

One reader suggested that retired people should be employed to police our roads. I will go one step further. Let all us rat on each other. Supply us with cameras so that we can capture those sheer moments of madness committed by our fellow road users and any fine collected will be shared with us 50 percent.

The supervisory powers of the road transport department (JPJ) should also be merged with the police, giving police the sole authority. There is no need for two different arms of government undertaking the same task.

That brings down to road conditions, which at times are just plain awful. Inadequate signage and uneven roads are contributing factors. Lack of planning over road construction are common flashpoints. Diversity in road concessionaires contributes to the lack of cohesion in road planning and traffic dispersion.

There are no two ways about it. Hard hitting educational programme coupled with prosecution where it hits the most is the only way forward to eradicate this menace that has plagued our society in these modern times.

With the highest echelons of government getting involved in the discussions these time around, I am optimistic that we may yet succeed where others have failed in the past.