Compulsive road risk taker

Putrajaya Nov 01: Road safety campaigns are now sending out positive messages about courtesy and good habits on the road, instead of showing gory images of dead scenes.

It is irreligious. Because the tendency to 'race to win' and assume unnecessary risks is a basic human trait. Entertainment and ego appear to be some of the motivations for such tendency.

Road users' decisions are often affected by irrelevant trait of greediness. They just want to be ahead the others or they simply want to bid for a wining pleasure. When their brains get framed, they often take mental shortcuts resulting to their greedy or fun acts.

Body, threat, price of life and regret show that road risk takers often face serious conflict of 'to overtake' or 'not to overtake'. They also face cognitive bias and cultural bias.

Actually road travelers are risk takers. The risk here is theorized bases on the Malaysian boleh No. 1 fatal accident rate. It means that we got to take risk when using the road. Elements such as poor transport system, road condition, vehicle condition, weather condition, mental desire and enforcement propel the risk.

Therefore teaching on how to take risk on the road is fundamental. For example, a message of "knows your car's performance, knows your physical condition, knows your situation, before you negotiate to overtake" is more practical.

Moral or ethics teaching is insignificantly perceivable. It should be prompted into the mental compartments starting from the young age. Caretaker is tended to be responsible. A better prompted child will know how to cross the road better. This serves as a starting point.

It's most immoral for a caretaker sharing his/her joy with children for his/her dangerous driving experiences. Inevitably, thousand words of persuasion would not deter these children when they've grown up. I have seen with my own eyes, a car of family members were so cheerful that when their father (driver) had successfully zoomed (jumped) the queue at a terminal.

If the said elements of risk are set to improve for the minimization of risk. Then the disjunction effect on the tendency for people doesn’t want to wait patiently to make decision will be gentle.

Things are not always 100% right. For those people who tend to place their life to bid for a short moment of joy. The only lessen which can be taught to them is experience. "by not seeing coffin, no tears" is the kind.

There is a human tendency to feel the pain of regret at having made errors. Until one day, he got to "kicks himself" at having done something foolish, then he may alter his behavior. But sometimes it is too late to be experienced. Perhaps it serves as a lesson to others.