Don’t raise age limit for motorcycle licenses in Malaysia – it would be ‘discriminatory’, says PIMA
The Malaysian Motoring Institutes Association (PIMA) has spoken out against a road safety expert’s suggestion that the government should increase the minimum age to obtain a motorcycle licence to 19.
According to PIMA president Mat Aris Bakar, the call to raise the age limit is discriminatory and denies the rights of 16- to 17-year-olds, who are considered adults at the international level, because FMT report.
“These groups are considered competent and mature enough to ride motorbikes safely, and we should respect that,” he told the news publication. He added that such a move, if implemented, would be detrimental to students in higher education institutions who rely on motorbikes to get to school because of inadequate public transport.
Mat Aris made the statement in response to a suggestion by Universiti Putra Malaysia road safety expert Law Teik Hua that the government should review the minimum age for obtaining a motorcycle license, as statistics show that 20% of motorcyclists killed in traffic accidents are between the ages of 16 and 19.
Based on statistics from the Federal Highway Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Agency from 2001 to 2023, motorcyclists and their passengers were more likely to die than any other road user. Last year alone, 69.2 percent — or 4,480 — of the 6,463 road deaths Motorcycle related.
Mat Aris said it would be better if the government looked at enforcement rather than the age factor. “There are many factors to consider, but raising the minimum age is not reasonable,” he explained.
While he acknowledged that compliance rates among motorcyclists at red lights remain low, he said there are ways to improve them. He suggested installing cameras and sensors at traffic lights, similar to those used in China and Japan. “If compliance rates increase, there could be fewer accidents.
The call to action – and also lower – The age limit for issuing a motorcycle license is not new. Back in 2021, a similar proposal to increase this limit was made by traffic advisor Rosli Azad Khan, who urged the government to increase the minimum age for issuing a motorcycle license from 16 to 21. What do you think? Should the current age limit be retained or should it be increased in the hope of improving road safety aspects?
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