Wednesday, August 29, 2007
A BRIEF question and answer session following the launch of the Belait Road Safety Campaign revealed a disturbing fact that is not uncommon but needs to be addressed in order to up the level of road safety in the country.
A 17 year old student from the Anthony Abell College disclosed that he has been driving since the age of 13.
"I only drive 60 to 65 km/per hr and only around Seria," he said. When asked whether his parents knew about his underaged driving he said: "My parents know and they let me drive."
Also, a more alarming fact was that he was tasked with sending and picking up his siblings from school and also his mother from work.
The Brunei Times enquired of the road safety rules and he confessed that he did not know "all the rules" but always remembers to put on his safety belt.
Participants and guests at the launching were asked to shed their views on this matter.
Mother of three, Normah, senior staff nurse at the Emergency Response Unit, Panaga Health Centre, BSP said that she has heard of this problem and it is not a good move on the part of parents.
"It's very dangerous and parents should not allow their children that are not licensed to drive," she said.
These underaged drivers are not licensed — they do not know the rules and are not experienced, she added.
"Based on their mental state at that age they are not really mature to counter if there is any danger or risk factors that can contribute to accidents that they don't know how to handle," Normah explained, adding "they can't anticipate the problems and they don't know the risks. Even if they do encounter problems or dangers they don't know how to respond."
"I think the blame should go to parents because they let them drive the car, so if the parents are sensible enough, they shouldn't have done it in the first place, because at 13, they are very immature, their response mechanism not well formed," she reasoned.
There is an assumption that those who begin driving early will become better drivers because of their experience but Normah disagrees.
"Basically they will have difficulties to accept the rules because in the first place they didn't learn the rules, they learn from trial and error so they will have trouble in differentiating between right and wrong," said Normah.
She added that some parents might opt to let their children drive because of the short distance between their houses to the destination and due to the small roads, but it is still not advisable as "accidents can even occur at the junction."
"Probably the parents are not there to send them or the houses are nearby and it's small roads so they just let them drive which is not good or advisable," she speculated of the reasons behind the decision.
One of the committee members of the campaign also shared the same sentiment — it is the parents responsibility to have their children monitored.
"It is totally not acceptable," he said.
Young people below the age of 20 years make up a significant percentage of road accident statistics and it is increasing by the year, he added.
"It doesn't matter whether it is in a rural area or the city, it is still dangerous where traffic regulations are already established," he said about underaged driving.
One of the the barriers to the progress of safe driving is the nonchalant attitude of the people.
"The leader has to be taught as the role model. The message is not there yet since there are still people not practising it."
Mohd Firdaus, the quality, health, safety and environment manager of Megamas Training is also against the idea of parents letting their children drive illegally.
He recounted an accident that his aunt witnessed last month involving a 15 year old who drove his father's car with the father as the passenger.
"He was speeding, the road was wet and he lost control of the car," said Firdaus. The car went over to the opposite lane and and hit the front of the aunt's car before spinning to smash the car on the side.
"The boy was killed on impact," he said. "Now, if i was his dad in this situation, I would feel really, really bad, because not only have I just killed my son but I've allowed him to do it ... it's my fault that my son has now been killed."
Driving at such a young age is a hazard for they lack the experience or knowledge about the rules of association with the risks involved in driving. Skills they learn from playing computer games is not the same as reality, he added.
But whether road safety is really getting through to youths is also open to debate.
"I think we need more police officers on the road so people will be afraid to break the rules," Afiq, a 19 year old student said.
The Brunei Times
A 17 year old student from the Anthony Abell College disclosed that he has been driving since the age of 13.
"I only drive 60 to 65 km/per hr and only around Seria," he said. When asked whether his parents knew about his underaged driving he said: "My parents know and they let me drive."
Also, a more alarming fact was that he was tasked with sending and picking up his siblings from school and also his mother from work.
The Brunei Times enquired of the road safety rules and he confessed that he did not know "all the rules" but always remembers to put on his safety belt.
Participants and guests at the launching were asked to shed their views on this matter.
Mother of three, Normah, senior staff nurse at the Emergency Response Unit, Panaga Health Centre, BSP said that she has heard of this problem and it is not a good move on the part of parents.
"It's very dangerous and parents should not allow their children that are not licensed to drive," she said.
These underaged drivers are not licensed — they do not know the rules and are not experienced, she added.
"Based on their mental state at that age they are not really mature to counter if there is any danger or risk factors that can contribute to accidents that they don't know how to handle," Normah explained, adding "they can't anticipate the problems and they don't know the risks. Even if they do encounter problems or dangers they don't know how to respond."
"I think the blame should go to parents because they let them drive the car, so if the parents are sensible enough, they shouldn't have done it in the first place, because at 13, they are very immature, their response mechanism not well formed," she reasoned.
There is an assumption that those who begin driving early will become better drivers because of their experience but Normah disagrees.
"Basically they will have difficulties to accept the rules because in the first place they didn't learn the rules, they learn from trial and error so they will have trouble in differentiating between right and wrong," said Normah.
She added that some parents might opt to let their children drive because of the short distance between their houses to the destination and due to the small roads, but it is still not advisable as "accidents can even occur at the junction."
"Probably the parents are not there to send them or the houses are nearby and it's small roads so they just let them drive which is not good or advisable," she speculated of the reasons behind the decision.
One of the committee members of the campaign also shared the same sentiment — it is the parents responsibility to have their children monitored.
"It is totally not acceptable," he said.
Young people below the age of 20 years make up a significant percentage of road accident statistics and it is increasing by the year, he added.
"It doesn't matter whether it is in a rural area or the city, it is still dangerous where traffic regulations are already established," he said about underaged driving.
One of the the barriers to the progress of safe driving is the nonchalant attitude of the people.
"The leader has to be taught as the role model. The message is not there yet since there are still people not practising it."
Mohd Firdaus, the quality, health, safety and environment manager of Megamas Training is also against the idea of parents letting their children drive illegally.
He recounted an accident that his aunt witnessed last month involving a 15 year old who drove his father's car with the father as the passenger.
"He was speeding, the road was wet and he lost control of the car," said Firdaus. The car went over to the opposite lane and and hit the front of the aunt's car before spinning to smash the car on the side.
"The boy was killed on impact," he said. "Now, if i was his dad in this situation, I would feel really, really bad, because not only have I just killed my son but I've allowed him to do it ... it's my fault that my son has now been killed."
Driving at such a young age is a hazard for they lack the experience or knowledge about the rules of association with the risks involved in driving. Skills they learn from playing computer games is not the same as reality, he added.
But whether road safety is really getting through to youths is also open to debate.
"I think we need more police officers on the road so people will be afraid to break the rules," Afiq, a 19 year old student said.
The Brunei Times