Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas) is one of only five highways in the country with dedicated motorcycle lanes. — Photos: ART CHEN/The Star, filepics and courtesy photos
Malaysia faces a critical and tragic issue on its roads – motorcyclists are involved in a disproportionately high number of fatal accidents.
In January, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said nearly 70% or over 4,000 road fatalities in Malaysia last year involved motorcyclists aged 16 to 35.
This alarming statistic highlights the urgent need for better safety measures, and experts point to a clear solution – dedicated motorcycle lanes, especially on highways.
A Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) study shows a dramatic reduction in fatalities when motorcyclists are separated from other traffic.
Miros head of management and commercialisation research Muhammad Marizwan Abdul Manan said motorcycle lanes were the safest option for riders, with their design specification detailed in the 2015 Guideline for motorcycle facilities which was developed by Public Works Department (JKR) with Miros input.
“The guideline lays out clear, objective rules for engineers, including when a motorcycle lane is required, based on factors like traffic volume and accident numbers,” he said.
Benefit vs cost
Miros research found that exclusive motorcycle lanes (EMCL), which physically separate motorcyclists from other traffic, can reduce motorcycle fatalities by 74% while non-exclusive motorcycle lanes (NEMCL), which are marked-only lanes, cut fatalities by 26%.
Between 2020 and 2022, accident analysis revealed that emergency lanes accounted for 43.3% of all crashes, compared with just 5.8% on dedicated motorcycle lanes.
The number of motorcycle accidents on fast lanes constituted 16.1%, slow lanes 11.1% and various middle lanes a combined 20.8%, with the remainder occurring at locations such as road dividers and closure sections.
Police using a drone during an enforcement exercise on the Federal Highway motorcycle lane.
However, according to Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), only five of the country’s highways are equipped with motorcycle lanes.
They are Federal Highway, Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas), Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE), Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE) and Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge, commonly known as the Penang Second Bridge.
In a statement to StarMetro, LLM said building motorcycle lanes would incur additional costs in the development of a highway, and the absence of toll charges on motorcyclists would make it difficult for concessionaires to maintain these paths.
“Additionally, space and land constraints, especially in urban areas with high density, also make it difficult to build motorcycle lanes due to high costs of land acquisition, compensation for affected buildings, utility relocation and other matters.
“The high costs would also affect the feasibility of a highway privatisation project,” it said.
A dedicated motorcycle lane at the Guthrie Corridor Expressway.
LLM said proposals on motorcycle lanes would normally be submitted by companies building the highways.
“There isn’t a policy dictating the need for motorcycle lanes on highways,” the authority added.
According to Marizwan, building one kilometre of EMCL costs about RM4mil, compared to RM500,000 for NEMCL.
However, he said the higher cost was offset by a benefit-to-cost ratio of 4.0 which meant every ringgit spent generated RM4 in returns − primarily from saved lives and reduced accident-related expenses.
Works Ministry reportedly has no plans to provide motorcycle lanes on all federal roads, due to the high costs involved.
Paying for safety
LLM had previously denied a viral video alleging that motorcyclists would begin paying toll fees this October.
Proponents, however, said this could have been the way to fund construction and maintenance of motorcycle lanes.
Motorcyclist Mohamad Afiq Akmal Mohd Sofee believed a toll would lead to better-maintained dedicated lanes on expressways.
He cited for example existing lanes on Federal Highway which were in poor condition.
He also suggested a tiered toll system, where smaller-capacity motorcycles paid a smaller fee compared to higher-powered bikes.
“It is unfair for owners of small-capacity motorcycles to pay the same amount of toll as those riding superbikes,” he said.
Another motorcyclist, Abu Shantoo said maintenance of dedicated motorcycle lanes on highways must be stepped up if toll charges were to be imposed on motorcyclists.
“It is meaningless if the lanes are still dark at night and roads in a bad condition after the charges are imposed,” he said.
He also said toll rates for motorcycles should be lower compared to cars.
Road safety activist Azlan Sani “Lando” Zawawi said imposing motorcycle toll charges was not the right approach, at least for now.
The founder of “Ikatan Silaturahim Brotherhood”, which represents over 10,000 motorcyclists, said most Malaysian bikers were workers trying to minimise their expenses and cost of living.
“At a time when various subsidies are being withdrawn and new taxes introduced, it will not be right to impose motorcycle toll charges,” he said.
On whether the government should make it compulsory for highway concessionaires to include motorcycle lanes, Azlan said this would be a positive move.
On highways without motorcycle lanes, he urged riders to bear in mind that they were the most vulnerable in a crash.
“Small-capacity motorcycles should stick to the far-left lane and only overtake when safe.”
He added that highway operators should ensure roads were well-maintained, increase patrol frequency and better equip traffic management patrols.
Azlan also called for more youth-targeted road safety campaigns and stronger pressure on concessionaires to follow standard operating procedures (SOP) on road maintenance.
Keeping riders safe
On motorcyclists’ use of emergencies lanes on highways, Azlan said this should be avoided as these lanes often had debris and were prone to water pooling.
Mohamad Afiq also called for more awareness on the prohibition for all motorists, including motorcyclists, of using emergency lanes on highways to bypass traffic jam.
“A driver once squeezed past me on the right, forcing me to swerve into the emergency lane.
Missing and damaged bollards at the entrance of this motorcycle lane along Federal Highway.
“I hit a wooden panel in the lane which punctured my tyres. Luckily, I managed to control my motorcycle.
“Many drivers think motorcycles should ride in the emergency lane instead of on the road.
Dedicated motorcycle lanes like this along Federal Highway are important in protecting motorcyclists’ safety on expressways.
“This is not right because as far as I know, insurers would not take responsibility if anything happens to motorcyclists in the emergency lanes,” he said.
While motorcycle lanes were beneficial, proper implementation and consistent enforcement were still needed, said Marizwan.
Emergency lanes should be off limits to all vehicles including motorcycles, say Azlan and Mohamad Afiq.
He praised an operation by Petaling Jaya police in June which used drones to catch riders not using the Federal Highway’s motorcycle lanes.
The operation reportedly resulted in the issuance of 32 summonses to errant riders in just 30 minutes.
“There needs to be frequent enforcement to instil discipline in motorcyclists and to show that the government is serious about safety and the use of motorcycle lanes,” said Marizwan.
