Johor Cycling Accident - 8 Lives Lost.

It has been about a week or so after the incident on February 18th 2017 along Middle Ring Road (Jalan Lingkaran Dalam) near the Mahmoodiah Muslim cemetery in Johor Bahru that claimed the lives of eight young cyclists. The atmosphere surrounding the issue has since settled down a tad bit. Facts and details of the incident have since surfaced in the form of police investigation reports as well as actual gory pictures of the crime scene on social media and video clips of the antics of said children.

For those of you who are a little hazy on the matter or have not kept up with the issue, here's a brief recap:

On February the 18th 2017 at approximately 3.30 am, a group of 20 to 30 (some sources say 30 to 40) avid young cyclists, with ages ranging from as young as 8 years old to 18 years of age were involved in an accident with a Nissan Almera car and it's 22 year old female driver who was on her way home from work from Taman Pelangi to Jalan Skudai. The cyclists, according to  numerous sources who have since opened up to various media bodies, are regularly know to ride extremely dangerously on main roads in the area in the wee hours of the morning on their modified bicycles dubbed 'basikal nyamuk' or mosquito bikes. In fact, some even claim they (the cyclists) have been around for a good 10 years or so already.

These bicycles are typically a few sizes too small for the rider, resulting in a lower center of gravity and the misinformed idea of increased stability. They're modified by moving the handle bars downwards and forwards from the top tube of the frame to the tops of the fork of the bikes, allowing the rider to assume a very low riding position and making them more aerodynamic when coasting downhill. Some of these bikes also have their brakes removed with the aim of having a minimalist-look as well as reducing weight, increasing aerodynamics and adding a certain 'style factor' to the bike.

Image taken from http://hangpataudak.blogspot.my

Image taken from thestar.com.my

The accident resulted in the death of eight cyclists, the youngest being just 13 years old, while eight others were injured and were sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital for treatment. The car flipped and turned belly up while the driver escaped with minor injuries. The police have since concluded their investigation into the case and have cleared the driver of speeding, using her mobile phone while driving, or being intoxicated at the time of the accident. Despite this positive bit of news, I have very little doubt in my mind that such a horrific incident will leave her scarred for the rest of her life.

As both an avid cyclist and road user, this incident hit a nerve in me and I wanted to pen my thoughts on the matter and share some of my opinions on the issue.

In such instances involving lost of life, no amount of finger-pointing will ever be enough to satisfy any party. My intention here is not to single out any one or more parties to point blame at. However, with that being said, it would be equally wrong to just sweep something of this magnitude under the rug and chalk it all up to bad luck. Such incidents require discussions and analyses to determine what went wrong and how we can prevent the occurence or, at the very least lower the risk of such disasters in the future. The entire outcome could have been different had certain parties acted differently.

Parents
First of all, what were the parents of said children thinking when they allowed their kids to go out at such late hours to ride their dangerously modified bikes in the middle of major roads? Were they even aware of their children's whereabouts or midnight escapades and, if they were, why would they still allow it? Excuses such as 'My child would throw a tantrum if I forbade him from going' or 'I've warned him time and time again but he still goes' are not nearly enough.

They are children and children throw tantrums. A parent's job is to be on top of such things. Don't think that just because you have a child, that you can automatically call yourself a mother or a father. Such roles come with responsibilities and such responsibilities don't just encompass midnight bike riding. According to some news sources, some of the children were school dropouts too. Is a child's education not a basic life necessity that every parent should ensure his or her child receives? What about the underaged kids who are still riding motorcycles without helmets, especially in the more rural areas of the country? Should these parents continue to play ignorant until another similar tragedy occurs?

Image taken from http://hangpataudak.blogspot.my

Such kids remind me of the shooting of 15 year old Aminulrasyid a few years back by policemen when the car he was joyriding in in the middle of the night hit another, causing him to panic and flee which led to a police chase and ended with his fatal demise. When are certain parents going to realise that just because their children are mature physically, that doesn't mean they've got nothing left to learn or are fully aware of the dangers of their actions? When are we going to stop being a reactive society and start becoming a proactive one?

Authorities
The authorities, especially the bodies that look over youth, sports and cycling in this country, are also responsible and have their own parts to play. I'm looking at you too, Malaysian National Cycling Federation. Perhaps a little more effort should go into the cultivation of local cycling culture rather than just lazily popping your head out once in awhile when Azizulhasni Awang wins a medal at the Olympics.

Such 'basikal nyamuks' have been around for quite awhile now and are nothing new yet why has little to nothing been done up until now to curb their presence on the roads? Countries such as the UK and even our neighbors down south, Singapore, have clear and established rules regarding cycling. Compulsory helmet use, bicycle safety specifications, front and rear lights when riding at night, as well as orderly riding when riding on major roads are some of the many basic rules that make up most traffic laws for cyclists in said countries. So why have these not been implemented here?

The construction of well-lit protected bicycle lanes and not just lines of paint on the road, education on the proper conducts of a cyclist when on the road such as signaling and riding in a group as well as spreading awareness on the importance of helmets and lights to school-going children are some of the many efforts that can be taken to not only ensure the safety of all road users, but to encourage the growth of the cycling culture here in Malaysia, which will foster a new generation of local professional cyclists, keep kids interested in the sport and benefit urbanites in the near future as cities become more and more congested and petrol prices climb, pushing up the cost of living.

Image taken from http://www.seattlebikeblog.com

Drivers

Soon after hearing about the incident, I couldn't help but notice the large amounts of hate and prejudice directed towards the driver on social media for the first day or two after the incident went viral. Almost everyone, including myself, immediately assumed that the driver was the one at fault, guilty of one the many road-traffic accident tropes our drivers are so infamously known for; using the phone while driving, speeding, driving under the influence, etc. Take your pick. Heck, I'd be willing to bet even you initially thought it was the driver who was to blame.

Despite the police having cleared the driver of the car of any wrong doing, the borderline stereotypical view us Malaysians have regarding drivers involved in accidents is definitely alarming. Why are we such terrible drivers? 

Even though the driver in this case was innocent and the fatalities were all cyclists, that doesn't mean that motor-vehicle users have nothing to learn from this. If anything, it still hammers the fact that road accidents have become a natural phenomenon here in Malaysia, occuring as predictably as the sun rising in the morning. In a recent article published by the Star regarding reforms to motor-vehicle insurance premiums, it stated that we have a death rate due to road accidents of almost 20 deaths per day. That's almost one death per hour. As I'm writing this, 3 people would've died already.

I'm no expert on this matter. I don't know what we can do to improve the quality of our drivers and to bring down the death rate other than the basics; don't speed, don't use your phone when you drive, don't drink and drive. But maybe that's just it. Maybe that's all we really have to do to make a change. And of course, as I am a cyclist and this is a cycling-oriented blog, let's not forget to give an ample amount of space between yourself and a cyclist when over-taking.

Children
And last but by no means least, I, of course, have to talk about the children involved in the incident. As much as I've tried to convince myself that they were merely just the victims here, they, unfortunately, were not. Sure, even though they were still technically underaged at the time of the accident, how old do you have to be to realise that riding on dimly lit roads at 3am in the morning on a bike that's nowhere near road worthy without any safety gear on would be a good idea? Don't they have exams to study for or homework to do? And even if they don't, I'm sure there are other more productive and less daredevil-esque ways to spend a Saturday night.

Ride your bike all you want, heck I would even encourage it. How else are we ever going to get a world tour team out there? More than half my childhood scars were from falling off my bike. But do it responsibly. Even up until today, despite having a helmet and bike lights and more than two decade of riding under my belt, I would never go out on a bike ride at night. The only exceptions to this are organised bike rides on closed and well lit roads such as the RHB Shimano Lekas Highway night ride.

Image taken from soscili.my

Come on kids, we don't expect you guys to be rocket scientists even before you're old enough to drive a car but the country's future depends on you guys. And even if you couldn't care less about the country or yourselves for that matter, at the very least, think of your parents. Even if you can't appreciate all the effort they've put into raising you, at least know that one of the most selfish things you can do to them is having them attend your funeral. To paraphrase what the Sultan of Johor said in response to the incident; "Don't let it come to a situation where we cry for our children instead of the other way around."

And that's about it. Again, I must emphasize that my intention here was not to target or antagonize any side or party as issues involving death tend to be sensitive issues to say the least. Instead, I wanted to share with you my opinions on the issue as well as what I believe can be done not just as means to prevent such a tragedy from occuring again but also for the betterment of the local cycling scene here in Malaysia.

That's it for now. I'm still working on the 'Pedaling Across Malaysia' posts and I'm sorry for the delay, I have been rather busy the past couple of weeks. Keep an eye out for the next post soon.