Remember the incident involving a Proton Saga FL driving against traffic on the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link highway yesterday? It seems that the driving force involved is an 85-year-old man, based on a Harian Metro report, reigniting questions on whether senior residents needs to be allowed to proceed driving.
Iskandar Puteri police chief Assistant Commissioner M Kumarasan said the person turned up on the district’s traffic investigation and enforcement division later within the day to assist within the investigation. It was found that the driving force ended up opposing southbound traffic on kilometre 14.3 of the Second Link after making a unsuitable turn while driving towards his home in Tampoi, he added.
“It’s believed [he] then turned off on the Gelang Patah exit and drove towards Mutiara Rini before the automobile he was driving ran out of fuel,” M Kumarasan said. “He was then helped by the general public and returned home through an e-hailing service.”
District police began investigating the incident after a splash cam video posted by Facebook user AG Naysen went viral. It showed the cam automobile being one among a trio of vehicles on the fast lane that needed to take evasive motion to avoid the Saga, narrowly missing it. The case is now being investigated under Section 42 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for dangerous and reckless driving.
This latest incident is just one among several instances of senior residents driving against traffic. The situation became so untenable that in 2021 the police proposed quite a few conditions for seniors to maintain their licences, including for them to undergo a physician’s examination to make sure they’re fit to drive.
The suggestion was promptly shot down by then-transport minister Wee Ka Siong, who said a driver’s competence shouldn’t be judged solely on age. More recently, his successor Anthony Loke said last 12 months it might be hard to impose age limits, as 30% of licensed senior residents were still actively driving.
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org
