Road safety is not to be taken lightly. Parents, it is never too young to teach your little ones about the proper ethics and attitude to have on the road.
With the rising number of traffic-related deaths, the government is hoping to address the issue early by launching a new road safety education module (PKJR).
The updated module is jointly formulated by the Road Safety Department and traffic think tank MIROS. The new PKJR is hoped to be more effective with visuals and interactive learning materials like videos, animation, and graphics.
Road Ethics and Culture
The problem of road safety needs long-term solutions, and one of the ways to tackle the issue is by educating children early about road ethics. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that the government was taking the matter seriously, reported The Malay Mail.
The government concluded that the root cause of Malaysia’s high road death count is culture and attitude, and intends to foster the right set of values in young children through this module.
The focus of the module is to make politeness and thoughtfulness a culture among road users, said Loke. Children are the future generations of the country and should be taught and shaped by a good culture.
Award-Winning Module
The PKJR programme was first included into the primary school curriculum in 2007, and later expanded for lower secondary students in 2012. In 2016, the previous administration updated the module. A “smart” collaboration was done between MIROS, the Ministry of Education, and other stakeholders to develop today’s programmes. The module is taught over two hours a month.
Loke added that the project won one of the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards, a British-based award that recognises achievements and innovations which would improve road safety. The award was conferred by Prince Michael of Kent last December 11.
The award lauds the change in the curriculum that makes road safety education modules to become mandatory in primary schools. It states that teachers, road safety experts, educational psychologists, enforcement teams along with MIROS have contributed to the development of the module.
Loke also expressed wanting to expand the PKJR curriculum for upper secondary students by focusing more on learning traffic laws and not just the concept of road safety, reported The Star.
The Importance of Road Safety
The Transport Ministry is also mulling over the idea of integrating the six-hour Road Transport Department (JPJ) talk in driving institutes into schools. The talk is currently compulsory for those taking their driving license.
If this were to be implemented, students who have been through the module is exempted from attending the talk. Instead, they can attend the exams right away as it is not practical to learn and understand everything in six hours, said Loke.
He said that the talk could possibly be integrated into the school curriculum as 16 is the legal age to get a motorcycle license. He added that it would take between one to two years to study the proposal for this, emphasising the importance of imparting road safety knowledge.
Instilling good road safety values in children should start at a young age. A little courtesy goes a long way towards ensuring the safety of roads users everywhere.
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