22 Individual negligence versus societal/environmental influences in road safety: issues from a crash causing death of eight cyclists in Malaysia

Background In 2017, a midnight crash resulted in the death of eight teenage cyclists who had assembled in a rural road for racing purposes. After many trials, the driver was finally discharged by the highest court six years later. The case engendered much public debate over the seemingly opposing views on role of individual negligence versus societal/environmental influences in the causation of road crashes. The public discussion centered around the driver's inability to stop the vehicle in time versus the failure of respective parents to prevent the children's illegal racing on the roads. Objective The author contrasted the relevant sections of the Malaysian traffic laws and with the scientific understanding of road safety according to the WHO Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention. Policy Analysis The law states that 'any person who, by driving …….recklessly ………in a manner which having regard to all the circumstances……….is dangerous to the public, causes the death of any person shall be guilty of an offence...'. The Report states '…. Indirect influences, such as the design and layout of the road, the nature of the vehicle, and traffic laws and their enforcement – or lack of enforcement – affect behaviour in important ways…'; '.. errors can also be effectively reduced by changing the immediate environment, rather than focusing solely on changing the human condition…'. Policy Implications The law tends to correlate the crash outcomes directly with driving behaviour. The scientific understanding highlights the multidimensional aetiologic factors contributing to crashes and underscores the role of environmental factors which are more effectively modifiable. The interpretation of the law, its perceived societal deterrent impact, crash outcomes and apparent emphasis on some contributory factors over others all affect legal judgement and sentence meted. Conclusions Globally, legislators and policy makers need to better understand the scientific evidence to effectively promulgate road safety laws in their milieu.