Motorcycle Safety in Malaysia

Prepared by:

Azhar Azmi GS
Abdikarim Omar GS
Khairul Azam GS
Houman Farsad GS
Mariam Ahmed GS 1
1. Title of the project.
2. Description of the existing problems.
3. The proposed scheme.
4. The results upon implementation.
5. Drawbacks.
6. Target for future improvement, etc
7. References

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Motorcycle safety constitutes an increasingly significant
concern in Malaysia, because:
In Malaysia, Motorcycle registration makes up
around 50% of the total registered Vehicles. While In
Indonesia and Vietnam, motorcycles dominate and
make up more than 78% and 90% of the registered
motorized traffic respectively.

In Malaysia, the composition of motorcycle makes up

around 40% for urban roads, around 20% for
commuting, except for commuters to Singapore, where
64.2% of traffic are motorcyclists on that corridor
between Johor Bahru to Singapore.
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In rural areas, the traffic composition of motorcycles
ranges between 25% AND 55%, depending on the
locality

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Percentage of accidents by vehicle type of Malaysia,
motorcycle accidents is nearly 50% of the total
accidents.

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The motorcyclists contributed more than 60% of the injuries
sustained and almost 60% of the fatal accidents that occurred on
Malaysian roads.

Many policies aiming to drastically reduce the number of

motorcycle accidents have been implemented such as
Mandatory motorcycle helmet legislation
Traffic calming measures
Road safety education (in primary schools)
Running headlight during all day
Separation of traffic
Conspicuity enhancement etc.
The situation has improved in the past 6 years and many efforts
remain to be made.

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One of the effective engineering approaches to
tackle this problem is by segregating these
vulnerable road users from other motorized traffic
through the provision of an exclusive motorcycle
lane or a non exclusive lane that is restricted to
motorcyclists with physical barriers and markings.

In the early seventies, the first motorcycle lane in

the world was constructed along the Federal
Highway Route 2, one of the busiest urban
expressways in the country, under a World Bank
project.
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The track consists of an exclusive 16 kilometer
motorcycle track connecting the city of Kuala
Lumpur and the Subang International Airport.

For safety and accessibility of motorcyclists, grade-

separated interchanges are used to connect the track
with the main carriageway.

 In early 1992, an extension ofthe track was carried

out. This extension was part of the improvement
programme to the existing two-lane expressway
connecting the Subang International Airport to the
towns of Shah Adamn and Klang.

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The project was constructed and managed by
Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan (PLUS), under one
of the government's privatisation schemes.

In November 1993, major sections of the lane were

completed ahead of schedule and it was opened for
use by the public.

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The positive impact of this provisional motorcycle lane has been
proven along an extension of track between the Subang
International Airport to the towns of Shah Alam and Klang.

There was a significant reduction of 39% in motorcycle accidents

following the opening of the lane.

Another study showed that the benefit to cost ratio of providing

an exclusive motorcycle lane width ranging from 3.3 m to 5.2 m is
about three times.

Since the benefit higher than the cost, it has been deduced that
the provision of an exclusive motorcycle lane is highly cost effective
in resolving motorcycle related accidents and incidents in
countries with a high motorcycle population.

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There was a sizeable number of motorcyclists who stayed on the
main carriageway instead of riding on the motorcycle lane.

The width of the motorcycle lane is too narrow for bigger

motorcycles as well as for overtaking purposes.

Motorcyclists exiting motorcycle lanes may face risks of being

collided from behind due to narrow off-ramps

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 The motorcycle lane passes dangerous sharp corners as
well as some tunnels. The sharp corners are dangerous for
motorcyclists if they are riding at high speeds above 35
km/h.

Poor maintenance of Motorcycle lanes on Malaysian

expressways .

Some stretches of the motorcycle lanes are flooded with

puddles even when it's not raining.

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Some stretches may have potholes and also covered with
sand which often causes troubles for motorcyclists.

The lanes are also poorly-illuminated and also less

monitored.

The corners and tunnels of the motorcycle lanes can be

potential sites for some robbers to rob motorcyclists due to
the dark and hidden locations.

There are reported cases by motorcyclists whose tyres have

been punctured due to hitting nails at the motorcycle lane.
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Construction of more exclusive motorcycle lanes .

Widening of the exclusive motorcycle lane up to 3.80 m

To improve safety of the exclusive motorcycle lanes.

To reduce the emitting pollution by motorcycles.

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 Providing guard rails and road markings for motorcycle
lanes to make safer for motorcyclist.

To install ITS sensors on the motorcycles to prevent

accidents.

To install airbags on the motorcycles to enhance safety of

motorcyclist.

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Hsu, Tien-Pen (et al)
A comparison study on motorcycle traffic development in some Asian
countries – case of Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam

Radin Umar R.S. and Teik Hua LAW

Determination of comfortable safe width in an exclusive motorcycle lane.

Nhan T. Tran
Interventions for the Prevention of Road Traffic Injuries: Case Study of
Malaysia

Radin Umar R.S

Motorcycle Lane Programs in Malaysia.

Radin Umar R.S., Murray G Mackay and Brian L Hills

Preliminary analysis of exclusive motorcycle lanes along the federal
highway F02, Shah Alam, Malaysia
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