We blame this, we blame that, but we should really blame ourselves when it comes to road accidents. That’s according to JPJ director-general Datuk Zailani Hashim, who said that 80% of road accidents in Malaysia stems from the behaviour of motorists (sikap pengguna jalan raya) who do not prioritise safety.

“The other 20% is caused by other factors such as vehicles (technical, brakes and others) and outside factors such as the roads (condition, environment, weather and others),” he told Sinar Harian, adding that the road transport department always takes consistent steps in ensuring road safety in the country.

“Various steps are taken to avoid road accidents, including in the aspects of advocacy, literacy, provocation, notification and legislation. All these steps are taken to ensure that road users always follow the road regulations and laws that have been set,” he added.

Accidents involving heavy vehicles have been in the news and Zailani said that JPJ conducted Ops Road Worthiness at all Puspakom outlets nationwide in August as part of a prevention initiative.

“1,008 saman involving 879 faults such as technical ones, no driving license and others were issued. Generally, all commercial vehicles are mandated to undergo schedule inspection every six months for buses and lorries. For taxis and e-hailing vehicles, it’s once a year,” he said, adding that JPJ’s automotive engineering division has increased the frequency of auditing Puspakom’s compliance to vehicle inspection standards.

“The frequency of auditing has been changed from monthly to weekly to ensure the quality of Puspakom’s inspections are always at the optimum level,” he said. Is the lack of inspection and regulations the main reason behind accidents involving lorries? We did a deep dive here.