More needed to keep our roads safe

KEJARA, the Demerit Points System for Traffic Offences, is in the final phase of being reviewed by the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

Indeed, the system urgently needs an overhaul to prevent tragedies like the accident that killed 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris students in June from happening again.

The government has acknowledged that the system – which was designed as a safety mechanism to remove serial offenders and dangerous drivers from the road – has so far been ineffective.

The current Kejara system, which was reintroduced in 2016, is a procedure for assigning demerit points to motor vehicle drivers who commit scheduled offences under the Road Transport Act 1987 and the regulations thereunder.

Under this demerit points system, a total of 20 offences identified as potentially causing serious or fatal accidents and endangering other road users were included in the list of offences.

But as Transport Minister Anthony Loke had previously pointed out, in the current Kejara system, the points will only be deducted after a traffic offender has paid the summons or been charged in court, and not when the summons notice is issued.

Offenders can simply choose not to pay their summons to avoid having their points deducted, which is why Loke openly admitted that it was a “failed system”.

At the time, Loke already expressed the government’s intentions to review the Kejara system, and he stressed that it will not be a point system based on paid summons.

Just a month later, the JPJ is in the final stages of reviewing the system before submitting it to the Transport Minister.

JPJ has already presented its findings twice and identified several areas for improvement, saying it will make certain amendments first before announcing them to the public.

This is a welcome step, but also one that must be followed through swiftly and thoroughly.

The imperative for Kejara’s finalisation and robust implementation could not be more urgent.

For too long, the system has failed to deter those who habitually disregard traffic laws, endangering not only themselves but also countless innocent lives.

Hopefully, the revamped Kejara will offer a far more potent deterrent as it must be more than just a procedural update.

Yet even the best-designed demerit system alone is not enough as Malaysia’s road safety problem runs deeper than any single enforcement mechanism can address.

Data from the Transport Ministry shows that approximately 18 people die every day from road crashes in the country.

The reasons for road crashes are myriad from reckless driving to speeding to poor road user habits.

Thus, while reforming Kejara is important, we need a more concerted effort that involves not only enforcement, but also education, infrastructure planning, consistent public messaging and so on, to address road safety issues in Malaysia.

It is clear that the ultimate success of Kejara is not solely about penalising offenders, but about changing the mindsets of drivers in Malaysia.

Keeping dangerous drivers off the road is more urgent than ever and finalising the changes to Kejara is a step in the right direction.

But it must be followed by a sustained, holistic push towards making Malaysian roads safer for everyone.