No go for taking away driving licence for elderly? Now, ban on “bad” driving schools?

In Malaysia, the pandemic is taking its toll on people and institutions in different ways. Constant flip-flops in decision making by a variety of authorities are among the famous examples.

One of the latest episodes is reminiscent of the call by the Royal Malaysian Police last September to restrict the renewal of senior citizens’ driving licences.

That was what the Men in Blue reckoned was the way  to cut down road accidents in the country.  It prompted the former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to intervene.

Dr Mahathir, who will be 97 in July, rejected the call  by the police and said many senior citizens are still able to drive safely, even on major highways.

Datuk Azisman Alias, director of the Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department, had stated that a motorist’s health was a contributing factor in accidents. Alzheimer’s disease and eye problems, he says, are among the health issues that elderly drivers face.

Driving Schools

On Monday,  Malaysia’s Road Transport Department (RTD) fingered a new bogeyman. It said that driving schools swould have their operating licences suspended or revoked if a large number of their graduates committed traffic violations.

Naturally, driving schools are fighting back. They say that they are not the ones who test the students. Ihey point the finger at the  RTD since it is the department that issues the licences.

RTD Director General Datuk Zailani Hashim said that the transition to the new rule would be accomplished by putting a code on the driving licence. That will tell  the authorities where the traffic offenders received their training.

Human Error

Statistics from the police’s Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department and the RTD show that 80 percent of road accidents result from human error.

After failed driving licence ban for elderly, now driving schools? appeared first on The Independent World News.

In 2018, certain driving schools cut their operational costs by hiring unlicensed instructors to teach learner drivers. These unqualified  “instructors” had not completed the RTD’s mandatory two-week training.

RTD  requires instructors to be “seasoned drivers” with a clean driving record. So the department put a stop to driving schools that hired these instructors.