Take a break after every four hours of driving, study recommends

All drivers have been advised to take a break after every four hours of driving as a study has revealed that a driver can stay focused up to only four hours, according to Universiti Putra Malaysia's Safe Kids Malaysia executive director Assoc Prof Dr Kulanthayan KC Mani.

He said the drivers, particularly those who were travelling to their respective hometowns for Aidilfitri, should take the break to reduce the risk of accident.

"Motorists are also recommended to switch drivers to avoid fatigue," he said in a special interview with Bernama News Channel on Thursday.

Kulanthayan said based on the Royal Malaysian Police's statistics, a total of 521,446 accidents were recorded last year with 7,152 deaths, or one death for every minute.

"Almost 60 per cent of the accidents involved motorcyclists, followed by cars (20 per cent), pedestrians (10 per cent) and others namely buses, bicycles, lorries and vans (10 per cent)," he said.

Kulanthayan also suggested that public transport should become the main choice of those who wish to return to their hometowns as the risk of accidents involving buses were relatively small.

"In fact, the number of vehicles on the road can also be reduced as a bus can carry 44 passengers (at any one time). It takes at least 10 cars to carry the same number of passengers.

"If one opts to drive own vehicle, the driver needs to emphasize on the safety aspect, such as wearing seat belt, not just for the driver but also other passengers, and to reduce speed," he said.

Kulanthayan also said the motorists might take more caution this time around following the implementation of the Automated Awareness Safety System (Awas) and the Demerit Points For Traffic Offences System (Kejara) on April 15.

"This is an optimum intervention and the attitude of the motorists will change with such enforcement as they might feel being 'watched'," he added.

-- BERNAMA