Malaysia has over 13 million motorcycles registered on its roads.
Some 1.6 million of those riders are gig workers, crisscrossing the country’s roads delivering food and goods.
But the roads they ride on have not yet been developed with sufficient safeguards for motorcyclists.
Without dedicated motorcycle lanes, riders must manoeuvre through traffic, often resorting to dangerous lane-weaving, at great risk to their own lives.
Even emergency lanes are increasingly used by motorcyclists, leaving fewer alternatives for drivers who need to stop during an emergency.
Frequent thunderstorms
As a country that sees frequent thunderstorms, Malaysia has also failed to provide adequate shelter for these vulnerable road users.
Motorcyclists are forced to take cover from downpours under flyovers, where they risk being run over by speeding vehicles. Those flyover shelters are also prone to poor drainage and flooding, exposing parked motorcyclists to spray from passing vehicles.
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Then there are the parking bays – or the lack of them. Where motorcycle parking does exist, it is almost always uncovered.
Many of the limited parking spaces for motorcycles are dangerously carved out along main roads, positioned too close to buildings and posing a hazard to vehicles entering or exiting.
Who is responsible?
Town planners have failed motorcyclists.
Developers have paid them scant attention.
And the government has remained largely silent on this long-neglected safety issue.
Sadly, motorcyclists appear to dominate accident cases.
Yet the response remains one of institutional inertia, a failure of foresight from those too comfortable to act.
It is time Parliament addressed these concerns and worked towards solutions that protect not only motorcyclists but all road users.
This article may not offer all the answers – but it is at the very least the start of a conversation that is long overdue.
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
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