Ignorance in Road Safety Among Students

          Do you always wear your seat-belt whenever you are in the car? Or remind others to do the same thing? Chances are you would not – data obtained from the Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) Malaysia shows that five out of 10 people never wear their seat-belts in the car, and what is more, 8 out of 10 people do not even know the significance of wearing one. Road safety is generally defined as practicing the fundamental rules of being safe on the road. The following paragraphs will illustrate more on the causes of the ignorance in road safety among students, the effects of this attitude, and how we can find solutions to put an end to the problem.

          This huge problem is mainly caused by the lack of information and knowledge on road safety that fellow students have. They do not know where to find reliable and trusted information that is easy for them to understand, even though we live in the 21^st century. Peer influence is also another cause, where they influence their friends to treat the road like their own racing playground. To them, the law is beneath them and they have neither respect nor fear for it. The fact that the punishment for breaking the law is too light also explains their attitude.

        Because of this, there will be a drastic increase in the number of deaths and casualties on the road, especially during peak seasons, like festivities. This ignorance will only lead to the loss of the country’s most treasured possession – their youth. And even if we still have our youth, we are moulding them to become inconsiderate and ill-mannered road users in the near future. Malaysia, who is proud of their kind and courteous people, will be criticized and frowned upon by the international community and this in turn will change how the outside world thinks of our country.

         Fear not, we may still have time to turn this around and make things right. Firstly, we should find the suitable and effective ways to send the right message to all students in Malaysia. Interact with them through the right channel, such as the World Wide Web, where the current obsession is social networking websites, to get the message out easily with the click of a mouse. Students will be more eager to accept advice when it is given in a form they can easily relate to.  Another action that should be taken is enforcing strict and heavy punishments as a grave reminder to road-users. They will take heed of the warning, and will think twice before defying the law.

         In conclusion, the information above clearly sheds light on why students are completely ignorant about road safety, the grave effects of their actions and how all parties can play their part in overcoming it. Everyone should stand together and do their roles well in order to ensure the roads in Malaysia are safe for everyone to use.