MELAKA: A study on mandating the anti-lock braking system (ABS) for new motorcycles with an engine capacity of 150cc and above will be jointly carried out by the Transport Ministry (MOT) and Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros).
“According to studies by Miros – an agency under MOT – the ABS is capable of reducing accidents and deaths involving motorcyclists by up to 30%,” said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
He said the research by MOT and Miros is expected to be finalised within six months and that the mandatory ABS is expected to be implemented within two years from completion of the study.
“The same time period will be used to amend existing rules for mandatory ABS installation.
“With the mandatory installation of ABS later, it is hoped that motorcycle safety will be increased and the probability of death will be further reduced,” Dr Wee said during the 10th anniversary celebration of the Miros Provisional CRASE Crash Centre (PC3) yesterday.
The ABS study will involve relevant stakeholders, including from the motorcycle industry, and consumer representatives.
According to accident data from the police and analysis by Miros, more than 6,000 traffic deaths were recorded in 2019 and, from that number, over 60% involved motorcycles.
Dr Wee described this as “something very worrying” as this percentage had not decreased since a decade ago.
Despite various campaigns and initiatives by the government and private sector to remind road users to be careful and follow traffic laws, they have not made a difference as the number of accidents and deaths remained unaffected, he said.
“Among the main factors of motorcycle accidents in Malaysia are the motorcycle skidding on its own or failing to dodge while riding.
“Ineffective braking systems are one of the causes of accidents. Thus, the use of a better and more effective braking system is highly hoped for and encouraged in our search for solutions to end motorcycle accidents,” he said.
“ABS is increasingly becoming a trend in motorcycle safety technology, especially with low engine capacity motorcycles which constitute the majority of motorcycles here.”
The ABS intervenes when the wheel of the motorcycle is about to lock up (typically under hard and sudden braking) to allow the rider to keep the motorcycle upright and stay in control, rather than skid out of control.
In his speech, Dr Wee also expressed his support for the development of a motorcycle airbag technology by Autoliv, an international automotive safety supplier.
“I understand this motorcycle airbag technology is still under development and needs to undergo various tests to validate the potential of these airbags in shielding motorcyclists from serious injury during accidents.
“I am very excited and fully support the development of this technology. I’m sure Miros will also support and work with Autoliv on developing this,” he said.
On another note, Dr Wee said PC3 had played an outstanding role in the vehicle safety ecosystem and worked together with industry partners, particularly in the automotive field, to conduct research and development to improve road safety.
He said this could be seen from the changes in vehicle safety standards in the Asean region where almost 80% of passenger vehicles sold in the market now have achieved either a 4- or 5-star rating under the Asean New Car Assessment Programme (Asean NCAP), with PC3 playing a huge role in the testing of the vehicles.