Enforcement 101: Ops Sikap, Authorities Should Be Blamed Too 2

(What we need in Ops Sikap is more stringent enforcement instead of just enforcement – it is high time the police get tough with hardcore traffic law abusers. Image source: http://lagunamerbok.blogspot.com)

Update: I guess it is unfair to point the fingers at the police alone although they do handle the bulk of the enforcement since there are other agencies involved namely JPJ who handle licensing & training and JKJR who handle the overall coordination and road safety-related activities

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Oh dear, is it another “brilliant” conclusion that I see on the horizon?

Read this first

I guess it does not take an extensive post mortem to come to this conclusion:-

An increase in the number of vehicles on roads throughout the country has been identified as the main reason for the failure of Ops Sikap 24 to reduce accidents and fatalities during the festive season from Aug 23 to Sept 6.

Kuala Lumpur Traffic Chief ACP Rusli Mohd Noor said apart from the attitude or behaviour of motorists, an increase in the volume of traffic had contributed to an increase in the number of accidents and fatalities

(Source)

What a revelation!

So, can we say that Ops Sikap will be highly successful if everyone keeps their vehicle at home and starts walking back to their home town?

The increase in the volume of traffic no doubt would contribute to the increase of accidents and fatalities – that is called the law of probability – the more cars you have on the road, chances of an accident would be higher. That is not rocket science by any measure. With the increase in population and the ease of purchasing new vehicles in the coming years, the volume of traffic is likely to keep increasing.

Is this means Ops Sikap in the coming years will fail too?

Based on the conclusion that the police have brilliantly deducted on the reasons for the high fatality, that seems to be the case (unless a miracle happens – those idiots on the road change their attitude overnight)

Thus, the reason – “increase in the volume of traffic” does not hold water as to why there was more fatality this year. Just take a look at what the newspapers reported last week:-

An express bus travelling at 130km/h, a container lorry at 125km/h, a Mercedes Benz at 220km/h, a BMW at 240km/h, a Honda Accord at 190km/h and a Perodua Myvi at 180km/h.

These were the astonishing speed of vehicles captured by the traffic police’s speed detection cameras on Malaysian expressways recently.

No wonder the death toll in each Ops Sikap keeps increasing and show no signs of coming down.

(Source)

It is obvious that Ops Sikap failed not because there are more vehicles on the road. It failed because there was a lack of enforcement. When it comes to safety on the road, it starts with the right attitude and behaviour but when that fails, then tough enforcement of the law must swiftly come in.

And this is where it failed in the recent Ops Sikap 24.

Instead of blaming the volume of traffic and attitude, this is what the authorities should do. The authorities should launch a major operation that runs not during holidays but throughout all year long and on highways, federal roads and all streets to enforce the law on all forms of abuse of traffic rules. For those stubborn criminals on the road, they should take one step by banning these idiots on the roads from being able to use any vehicles on the road.

And they should do with without any favour or fear and then you will start to see the reduction of the fatality on the road. And yes, bring back the need to slap the stubborn and regular lawbreakers with a higher fine (remember the idea of increasing the fine to RM1,000 which was dropped after some criminal-loving politicians made noise?).

So, do you still want to say that it is not right to point fingers at the authorities for the failure of Ops Sikap 24? The abuse of traffic rules happens because those drivers know that they can get away with it and even if they are caught, the punishment at the end of the day seems trivial. It is high time this changes.

Will we finally see a difference in Ops Sikap 25?

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