PETALING JAYA: Poor driving habits is one reason why many drivers are unhappy on the road, says a traffic consultant.
Goh Bok Yen said those with bad driving skills caused other motorists to also drive badly.
Soon, everyone gets frustrated and safety takes a back seat, he said.
He said the comfort and happiness of drivers played a vital role when it comes to road safety.
“But we do not have a culture of good driving habits. So even if you have the best roads in the world, driving is still stressful,” Goh said.
And don’t think that you are immune if you’re a good driver in a luxury car, according to him.
He said if other motorists are driving badly or haphazardly, you will still lose your cool no matter how comfortable or feature filled your car is.
He said the other factors are traffic conditions and construction work on or alongside the roads.
“These can also irritate and frustrate drivers,” added Goh.
A Global Driver Satisfaction Index (GDSI) showed that drivers here are among the unhappiest in the world despite Malaysia having some of the best roads.
The index was compiled from Waze, a traffic and navigation app for smartphones, which recorded feedback from 50 million users in 32 countries.
Malaysia was 23rd in the ranking for driving safety; Argentina was in the top spot. Also, Malaysians ranked the road systems here as good as those in Britain.
The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) believes that bad driving habits are linked to a driver’s attitude and personality.
Director of the Road User Behavioural Change Research Centre at Miros, Dr Low Suet Fin, said the Government has spent a lot of money educating road users on safety to help reduce accidents.
“But human behaviour is difficult to tackle, it can be changed through education but this takes a long time,” she said.
Federal traffic chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Mohd Fuad Abdul Latiff said many motorists need to change their attitude.
“We have drivers who are selfish, unwilling to signal when changing lanes and there are some who won’t give way to other motorists,” he said.
“They must be courteous to each other. How else will we change for the better?” he added.
In Johor Baru, Malaysian Road Transport Department director-general Datuk Seri Ismail Ahmad said motorists should be able to handle driving-related stress.
“Stress management is part of the curriculum at driving schools,” he said after a ceremony to hand out Corporate Integrity Pledge certificates yesterday.
