Stop treating road fatalities as isolated cases, says Wee [WATCH]
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong has called on the government to stop treating road fatalities as isolated incidents and instead hold transport companies accountable for preventable crashes.
This, he said, includes following through with the implementation of mandatory GPS tracking and corporate liability enforcement.
Wee said many fatal accidents stem from systemic practices, such as pressuring drivers to speed or exceed legal working hours.
"Discipline starts from the top. You must punish the company, not just the driver.
"If you force drivers to speed or make extra trips, then these are the consequences," he said.
He noted that the mandatory GPS tracking for commercial vehicles had been delayed due to industry resistance and was later derailed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Some companies appealed in the early stages. Then Covid-19 came, and everything stopped — mostly due to the cost of bouncing back from the pandemic.
"But we cannot keep delaying. If this is a real threat, then we must act to save lives."
Wee also urged authorities to fully enforce corporate liability laws to crack down on companies that incentivise dangerous driving habits in pursuit of profit.
"Other countries already do this. If a company pushes a driver beyond limits and something happens, they are held liable."
He pointed out that in countries like the United Kingdom, drivers often refuse to exceed legal driving hours — not out of fear, but because corporate policy enforces safety.
Blaming drivers alone for deadly road crashes, he said, is a short-sighted approach that ignores systemic failures in regulation and enforcement.
He added that a "whole-of-nation" strategy is needed — including better inter-agency coordination, long-term staffing at transport authorities, and a renewed commitment to the proven "3E" model —engineering, enforcement, and education.
"You cannot just pick one, like speeding, and ignore the rest. Speed contributes to fatalities.
"But what about the roads? What about driver education? What about how we enforce the rules?" he said.
On whether the government should reinstate the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) or strengthen the existing Land Public Transport Agency (APAD), now under the Transport Ministry, Wee noted: "That is the government's prerogative."
"What's important is having the proper structure — because as far as I know, it's still operating under a contractual setup.
"When your future is uncertain, you don't attract committed professionals. That's the biggest issue."
He said regular inter-agency meetings, such as those hosted by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), are essential, but follow-through has been lacking.
"Miros calls for meetings, they give input. But do we act on it?"
He said rebuilding a culture of road safety is not just about punishment.
"It's about planning safer roads, educating drivers, and enforcing rules consistently.
"That's how we change attitudes."
Following two fatal heavy vehicle collisions in recent weeks, Transport Minister Anthony Loke yesterday (June 12) revealed that the bus operator involved in the crash that claimed 15 university students' lives failed all seven mandatory safety requirements under the Road Transport Department's Safety Audit and Inspection Report (JISA).
The audit found the company had no appointed safety officer, failed to monitor driver speed via GPS, and did not enforce the eight-hour driving limit.
Meanwhile, the ministry also published the preliminary report of a separate incident involving a fatal crash between a lorry and a Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) truck.The truck, said the report, was overloaded by more than 70 per cent.
The report said the excessive weight increased the vehicle's kinetic energy, heightening both the impact of the collision and the risk of severe injury.
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