110km/h No Matter What - Should The Government Dictate Your Speed?

Speed is an integral part of transportation. It excites us and injects some spice into an otherwise dull trip. If we had it our way, let's be honest, the 110km/h limit wouldn't even be a limit: more of a suggestion, a guideline if you will. Then comes the question of safety – that the faster we travel, the more we put ourselves in danger; or so the thinking goes.

Cars are getting faster and more powerful every day. Outwardly docile family hatchbacks that have engines producing upwards of 200 horsepower have become part of the landscape, not even warranting a second glance. This begs the question: should we be inclined to push these vehicles to the upper echelons of their ability, can we handle it?

Well, the powers that be have and will always enforce speed limits, with speed cameras, increasingly severe punishment for those in violation, and more convoluted road rules and policies.

To that end, the Malaysian government could soon be considering passing a legislation that would mandate the installation of a device that limits each vehicle to 110 km/h at all times without exception, changing the approach from 'deterrent' to 'dictate'.

This idea stems from the mind of the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah, which he elaborated to reporters at a press conference after launching the Creativity And Science 4U program in Ampangan, Seremban. And should it see widespread enforcement, would make Malaysia the first country in the world to forcibly restrict vehicle speed in accordance with national law.

It was said that the estimated cost of implementation should be less than RM500 per vehicle and can be installed in a short amount of time. This program would go on to cover ordinary private vehicles as well as public and heavy vehicles.

This started a bit of a debate among us, and we would like to know what’s on the mind of you, the Carlist.my readers, about enforcing speed limits in this manner?

Its widely agreed that higher speeds do lead to more road accidents and fatalities some of the time, and yes, Malaysians do have a habit of exceeding the legally permitted highway speeds by some margin. But is this the right way to curb the issue? Or would better enforcement of existing laws be a better solution? Or should they rework the system altogether? I'm sure there are many reasonable suggestions from the public to make these laws more easily agreed upon by road users, thereby reducing the likelyhood of violation.

Given that a large number of accidents here are caused by speeding beyond the limit, we believe that the problem itself starts from poor standards of driving, generally. With driving licenses easily "bought", proper driving education and discipline on the road isn't properly instilled, valued, and practiced, resulting in a foundation that eventually builds to the situation we find ourselves in today. But that's a matter for another discussion.

Back to the matter at hand: do we agree with a 110km/h speed limit without exceptions, enforced at the vehicle level? No, not for a second. It does sound like an easy way out, though, for those who are under pressure to reduce road accidents.

What are your thoughts?