Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin, the Member of Parliament of Kinabatangan has called on the government to set up a special body which will monitor the new drivers on whether they are competent drivers. This he said is because of the rising fatalities and road accidents which had involved drivers who recently obtained their driving licenses. Bung said that such a body would help to reduce fatalities which are currently increasing, particularly among the new drivers.
Bung Mokhtar made the suggestion that the special body should monitor the new drivers over a certain period of time in order to ascertain if the drivers are ‘safe’ to be on their own. He said that the new licensed drivers should be ‘educated’ in the responsibilities of driving any vehicle because it could involve a member of a family or relatives when road accidents occur. He said that if there are no proper monitoring of the new drivers, then they would think that they are champions and hence drive whichever way they desire.
He also added that if the government wants lesser accidents on the roads, then it should seriously consider this proposal as it could be the best solution to the problem. He also said that the driving schools should also shoulder some responsibility in reminding their students on the risks and responsibilities as a vehicle driver. The schools should on top of reminding the students also stress and emphasize on the importance of knowing one’s responsibility. This is because the driver’s latest and last driving advice would come from the school and after they pass their driving test, there would be no other parties who could emphasize the importance of safety to them. Therefore this ‘education’ must start in the school and then transferred to the special body suggested by Bung Mokhtar.
Bung Mokhtar also called on the government to look into creating more people-friendly insurance schemes on top of the ones currently available. He said that such insurance schemes could targeted to the low-income group so that they are able to own life insurance policies that also cover vehicles and road accidents. This he said could be undertaken by the Finance Ministry or a government agency which can subsidize and assist the lower income group when it comes to this issue.
