PETALING JAYA: For 16 years, a law requiring back seat passengers to wear seat belts has existed, but enforcement has been weak and many passengers remain complacent.
As the Transport Ministry ramps up enforcement on various road safety issues, experts say it’s time the law is taken seriously to protect lives.
The use of rear seat belts was mandated under the Motor Vehicles (Seatbelt) Rules 2008, with enforcement initially scheduled to begin in 2013, following a period of public advocacy.
Road Safety Council of Malaysia executive council member Datuk Suret Singh said enough time has passed since the law’s introduction.
“The advocacy period was only one or two years. The use of the rear seat belt needs to be enforced as there is clear complacency now. During the early promotion campaigns, before enforcement even began, rear seat belt usage was already at 45-47%.
“We were making great progress. But now, I believe usage has dropped to just 10-15%,” said the former Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) chairman.
Miros chairman Prof Dr Wong Shaw Voon said many rear passengers mistakenly believe they don’t need to use seat belts due to cushioning from the front seat.
“This is a myth. The seats are not designed to absorb that sort of impact to save your life.
“It is the seat belt that is designed to do so. Do not expect the front seat to minimise the impact,” he said, adding that wearing a rear seat belt can reduce the risk of fatality by 25-45%.
He also warned that unbelted rear passengers endanger others in the vehicle.
“If the rear passengers do not wear their seat belt during a crash, they can be thrown forward, pushing the front seat and increasing risk to the front passenger and driver,” he said.
Assoc Prof Dr Law Teik Hua, head of the Road Safety Research Centre at Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Engineering Faculty, said the ban on dummy seat belt buckles and the requirement for all buses to have seat belts is an encouraging step towards improving safety measures on the roads.
However, he said it is just as important to reconsider the enforcement of rear seat belt usage in private vehicles.
“Enforcement and public compliance are far from satisfactory despite mandatory usage. Many rear passengers do not bother to wear seat belts due to a combination of laziness, ignorance or lack of enforcement.
“We need to shift our attention from legislation towards actual implementation. Strong enforcement along with unrelenting public awareness campaigns is essential,” said Prof Law.
He also agreed that wearing seat belts reduced the chances of injury or death and that unbuckled rear passengers could endanger others too during a collision.
According to the Motor Vehicles Rules (Seatbelt) regulation, vehicle drivers and passengers who do not use a seat belt (front or rear) can be fined up to RM2,000 or jailed for one year or both.
