Rear Seat Belt Implementation

Wednesday April 9, 2008
Rear Seat Belts A Must Soon
By ROYCE CHEAH

PUTRAJAYA: The Road Safety Department will propose to the Government to allow a short grace period for motorists to get rear seatbelts installed and be “prepared mentally” before its implementation.

Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said the rear seatbelt ruling would be enforced around the third quarter of this year.

“I feel we have given the public enough time to get ready,” he said, adding that the move for compulsory wearing of rear seatbelts did not need to be tabled in Parliament.

He said promotional activities encouraging the use of rear seatbelts had already taken place in the past year and it was time to move forward.

Previously, the Malaysian Institute for Road Safety Research said that more than 80% of cars had rear seatbelts installed.

Suret Singh also spoke about the department’s plans for the rest of the year and said emphasis would be on community-based programmes, such as the helmet-wearing initiatives, that were successfully implemented in 20 districts.

“This particular programme has been well documented and there is already a standard operating procedure so that we can implement it in any district in the country.”

Suret Singh said road safety education was taking off well in schools and now even included security personnel being trained as traffic wardens.

“It is an understanding we have with the company that the Education Ministry hires. They provide the security personnel and we train them as traffic wardens so that there is no need to hire extra people.”

Suret Singh said that by 2011, road safety education would have worked its way up to Form 4 students and that a whole new breed of motorists who took safety seriously would emerge as a result.


Friday April 11, 2008
Old Cars Should Be Given More Time To Fit Rear Seat Belt
By PAUL CHOO

KUALA LUMPUR: The Road Safety Department has proposed for private vehicles manufactured before 1995 be given more time to comply with the rear seat belt ruling, expected to be implemented over the next few months.

Its director-general Datuk Suret Singh said the suggestion would help ease the burden of those owning old vehicles from going through the hassle of fitting rear seat belts to comply with the ruling.

Various vehicles, depending on its model, do not come fitted with rear seat belts between the two years stated above. All vehicles after 1995 however, come with the amenity. Currently some 90% of vehicles on the road come fitted with rear safety belts.

"We encourage those with old vehicles to fit rear safety belts, and we are proposing for a three-year grace period for them to get it done.

"This is so that when the ruling is implemented they are not caught off guard as it would be unfair," he said during a press conference at the Sungai Besi toll plaza here on Friday after distributing stickers to motorists encouraging passengers to buckle up.

He added that his department is in talks with car manufacturers to help fit rear safety belts into old vehicles produced by them.

Suret Singh also said the department is proposing for a three-month grace period for enforcement officers to not issue summonses but let off offenders with just a warning.

"Once people start complying with the ruling, we estimate that the risk of heavy injuries or death can be reduced by 50%.

"This translates into saving around 350 lives per year based on last year's road accident studies carried out by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros)," said Suret Singh.


Saturday April 26, 2008
Kancil, Kenari get exemption
By SIM LEOI LEOI


PUTRAJAYA: Perodua Kancil and Kenari cars manufactured between 1998 until mid-2004 will be exempted from the compulsory backseat belt rule when it comes into effect in June.

Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said this was because the models produced during this period did not have anchorage points for these seat belts.

“Some models that came out in the period between 2004 and 2005 have anchorage points but no rear seat belts.

“The department has proposed that Perodua offer special packages to owners of these Kancil and Kenari models to install rear seat belts.

“They have three years to do that,” he told reporters here yesterday.

Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat had announced that the Government would enforce the ruling requiring backseat passengers to wear safety belts beginning June.

However, no summonses will be given out until the end of August.

The ruling, which is only effective for cars registered after January 1995, is said to be able to prevent 350 road deaths a year.

Suret Singh also advised car owners whose vehicles were not fitted with rear seat belts not to have them installed at unauthorised workshops.

“They should instead go back to the car manufacturers. This is because retrofitting your cars with anchorage points for seat belts at these workshops may jeopardise the safety aspect of the cars and the passengers.

“This will not be money well spent. Some cars cannot be retrofitted with seat belts. That’s why the owners will have to refer to the manufacturers whether this can be done on their cars,” he said.

Suret Singh said that in cases where there were more than three backseat passengers, the person not wearing the seat belt would not be fined.

“This is because usually, there are only three seatbelts in the back seat. However, about 91% of the time, there are three or fewer passengers in the back,” he said, adding that police cars and Road Transport Department vehicles would also be required to have rear seat belts except in high-risk incidences.

The department, he added, would also carry out a campaign to promote the usage of baby and child car seats for children aged below 11 years.

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I'm just wondering why implementing on rear seat belts? Previously, there's implementation of 3rd brake lights, hands-free kits, etc. These accessories don’t come together as compulsory equipments. Does it effectively reduce the accident rates? Who really benefits from the implementation? Vehicle owners or manufacturers?

Would like to hear opinion from others regarding this issue.