32 road deaths involving special duty vehicles, says Miros

Pix of police outriders escorting a VVIP

THERE were 32 deaths from road accidents involving special duty vehicles in 2017.

Special duty vehicles included those used by police outriders, ambulances, fire brigade trucks and other first responder vehicles.

This was based on to crash statistics from the police, says Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros).

Eleven people were severely injured in such incidents while 33 suffered minor injuries, according to the data.

Police outriders are responsible for providing safe passage for VIPs en route to their official duties, Miros director Dr Siti Zaharah Ishak notes. But they need to be considerate, she adds. “They are well trained to conduct such services, as their training covers all important aspects like route planning, safety, communications and emergency preparedness.

“However, in certain cases due to the dynamics of traffic situations, outriders have stopped motorists abruptly, leaving them with the need to make immediate judgements to take action.

“This includes changing lanes, applying the emergency brake and moving to the road shoulder.

“Wrong actions taken may lead to dangerous situations,” she tells Sunday Star.

As such, she says both outriders and motorists also need to use their discretion to keep safe.

Currently, the practice by police outriders is to turn on sirens and lights to warn other drivers of the approaching VIP convoy.

This is often followed with giving hand signals for motorists to give way.

To improve current practices, Miros suggests for more comprehensive training to ensure the safety of outriders, the VIP convoy and the public.

“In fast moving traffic, the outriders would sometimes need to clear the traffic immediately, hence exposing them to risks as well.

“In general, motorists know that they need to make way for the convoy to pass.

“However, it is sometimes difficult to make way due to situations such as traffic jams or at a signalised intersection.

“Therefore, there is a need to increase the awareness among motorists on actions to take when dealing with the situation.” Dr Siti Zaharah says.

Several government officials and leaders say they respect the role of police outriders but hope the officers will be more polite to motorists. Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee says police outriders should tone down their approach when asking motorists to clear a path for the VIP.

“I think Malaysians are generally used to making way when they hear the sirens.

“But I do agree that the manner in which outriders issue orders should be toned down. They need to consider the safety of other motorists.

“The outriders have to be careful and considerate,” he says.

Dr Kiandee also believes the privilege of having police escorts and outriders should be limited to certain important office bearers and individuals.

“For example, it should be accorded to the King, Sultans, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Chief Ministers,” he says.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow suggests that the police review their protocol when it comes to such outriders so that they do not appear intimidating to motorists.

“More courtesy will definitely endear them to other road users,” he says.

He acknowledges that as long as the practice has been in place, there have been accidents which arose from police outriders ordering motorists to move aside.

“But as for me, I prefer to allocate sufficient journey time instead of using outriders.

“However for certain official functions, the Protocol Unit requires outriders to be made available,” Chow says, adding that examples of such events include the State Assembly opening, Governor’s birthday and Merdeka celebration.

In Penang, he says the Governor and Chief Minister are given the privilege of having police escorts on the road.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke says he has personally never used police outriders as a minister.

Empathising with the public, he says he understands the concerns of motorists as he has been in such situations before while driving.

“I can fully understand the sentiment.

“When a police outrider suddenly asks you to move aside, people can get jittery and this can affect the way they drive. We cannot discount such concerns.

“But we cannot do away with the practice completely. However, its usage should be limited,” he says.

Loke points out that certain protocols need to be respected, especially when police outriders accompany royalty, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

But to reduce safety risks, he hopes the police will be able to be more cautious as they accompany the VIP on the road.