KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Malaysia must come up with a more orderly system or coordination in managing traffic congestion to reduce the level of stress currently experienced by motorists.
Malaysian Psychiatric Association president Dr Hazli Zakaria said this coordination included finding an appropriate time for roadblocks and carrying out maintenance works.
He said in efforts to improve the country’s existing management of the matter, Malaysia could emulate Singapore’s efficient system in creating a conducive driving experience for its people.
“Many factors have been identified for contributing to increased stress levels when driving in this country including being forced to face roadblocks by the authorities who narrowed lanes and also poor timing in the implementation of maintenance works.
“All these will affect the endurance of Malaysians or their ability to drive, hence there must be a management system which is user-friendly,” he told Bernama here.
Dr Hazli said this when asked to comment on a study by an international platform Confused.com recently which revealed that Malaysia was in eighth place as the most stressful country for driving, with an overall score of 72 out of 100.
At the same time, Dr Hazli hoped drivers could also improve their driving habits by making careful planning and preparation before starting their journey to avoid the risk of stress occurring when driving.
According to him, Malaysia has good road quality compared to other countries in South East Asia, unfortunately, the stress level of the people when driving is higher.
“Etiquette when driving is important because we often see situations when motorists are being reckless while on the road, squeezing between vehicles, changing lanes without signalling or using the emergency lane without a reason.
“This situation can lead to risky driving or cause other road users to be stressed and fail to keep their emotions in check, forcing them to act out of control on the road,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) director-general Datuk Dr Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim said the stress experienced by motorists was also linked to problems at the workplace, financial situation, health, age factor, gender and the purpose of the journey.
He said they also felt burdened with hazard monitoring when driving involving pedestrians, junctions and difficult road conditions.
“There are five categories of stress identified among road users in Malaysia, namely, aggression, dislike of driving, hazard monitoring, proneness to fatigue and thrill-seeking.
“For example, aggression indicates an attitude or behaviour of motorists who are easily upset when facing an incident while driving especially among male drivers,” he said adding that dislike of driving is related to the level of confidence and the issue of anxiety of an individual when driving which are more likely to be experienced by female drivers.
