The proposal by the Ministry of Transport to make it mandatory for passengers to wear rear seat belt in all passenger cars is a good move. How many of us would have driven around without fastening the seat belt had the law not imposed a penalty against drivers and front passengers flouting it? We will never know how many lives were saved by the front seat belts but we know for sure that many lives would have been lost in accidents had it not been for those seat belts.
Rear passengers need to be protected too. It is time we ensure that everyone in the car belts up, including rear passengers. Most cars on the road are now fitted with rear seat belts. These devices are put there with a purpose. Spending 2 seconds wearing the seat belts can save us from potential injury and death. It is already there. Use it! Why take the risk? Think safety first.
You know, actually I don’t understand why the Government is doing this. I mean, WE should be responsible for our own safety instead of having the Government imposing fines on us for not caring whether we die or not from accidents.
I understand that the Government is being nice and all, reminding us that we should be taking care of ourselves but the Government does have other more pressing issues to attend to (e.g. the recent bus accident), so why don’t we just take care of ourselves?
Why do we need the Government to force us to STAY ALIVE?! D*mnit.
Peter:
That is the irony huh!
I agree. I’ve been wearing rear seat belts for more than 10 years now since my father got a car that had rear seat belts. I wonder why people get surprised when they see me wearing a seatbelt.
Peter:
As long as you are safe…
This is a good move, up to a point. We are way, way behind in safety standards where this is concerned. Many cars still comes without airbags, abs, disc brakes etc. Wearing a rear seat belt in such cars would not do much to enhance the safety of the passengers.
The govt always fail to do first things first. Make it compulsory for cars to have airbags/abs/disc brakes, enforce the xenon ban and take those not road-worthy vehicles off the road first. Many people still do not wear a helmet while riding a bike, especially in kampung areas and on fridays while going to prayers. People still jaywalks.
Believe me, as always, the govt talks more than do.
Look to the car beside you, chances are the driver is chatting away on the handphone or worse typing a sms.
Life is still cheap in Malaysia.
Peter:
Yes I agree more could be done safety-wise. Local cars are still Milo tins. Life is only as cheap as we allow it to be. The government must do it part. At the same time, we must also do ours by being defensive and conscientious drivers.
Awesome move.
It’s common sense but somehow people sometimes need some direction and force before they start to follow.
They can complain all they want but at the end it for the safety of you and your loved ones.
Peter:
And we wonder why people are resistant to this proposal.
I always wear my rear seatbelt but my family members don`t want to wear it b`coz they said that the government not yet made it mandatory to wear rear seat belt.
Peter:
We should be responsible for our own safety and not wait for the government to enact laws to that effect.