The authorities are looking at numerous ways to reform the driving culture of Malaysians, including employing the 'carrot and stick' approach, to reduce the alarming number of accidents and fatalities.

Road Safety Department director-general Suret Singh said methods of positive reinforcement are currently under consideration.

"We are not looking at how bad driving and drivers can be punished but also how incentives can be given for people to be rewarded for good driving," he told malaysiakini in a recent interview.

Insurance discounts

Among examples of such incentives being floated is for drivers to be allowed to obtain discounts on their car insurance premiums upon proving attendance at courses that enhance safe driving.

"We're hoping that such insurance loading charges can be related to the policy-holder's driving pattern. Right now, they have the NCB (no claims benefit) discount for those who do not make any claims.

"We're suggesting that the insurance loading charges are even further lowered when drivers prove they've attended courses that enhance safe driving," he added.

However, Suret did not disclose any further details as he said discussions are still being held with the relevant authorities.

"The transport minister (Chan Kong Choy) has already announced plans to restrict licence renewal for 'bad drivers' to one year while 'good drivers' can renew theirs for a five-year period.

"These discounts on insurance is an extension of that," he added.

Ministry's fund

Among other possibilities, he said, is for the Human Resources Ministry to include driving safety as one of the training programmes for which its Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) can be accessed by private sector companies

The HRDF, set-up in1992, provides for participating companies to secure grants to defray or subsidise training for their Malaysian employees.

"Companies in the construction industry, for example, have sought access to this fund in order to train or upgrade the skills of their human resources," Suret said.

"We are working with employers and conducting dialogues with senior managers in companies' occupational safety and health departments to look into how they can access the HRDF for training related to enhancing their staff's safe driving," he added.

Malaysia has a daily average of 17 fatalities due to road accidents, most of which involve motorcyclists, car drivers, their passengers, and pedestrians.

Along with other categories of vehicles, the country last year recorded a total of 6,223 deaths due to road accidents.

Although vehicle and road conditions play their role, human factors such as reckless or careless driving have been identified as the main culprits.

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