MIROS urges the government to enact a new law banning the sale of dangerous vehicle accessories

The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) wants the government to enact a new law banning the sale of dangerous vehicle accessories that could pose a fatal risk in the event of an accident. An example of just such accessories are dummy or decoy seat belt clips, which are relative affordable and readily available everywhere.

Such clips are mainly purchased and installed by motorists who opt not to wear their seat belts while driving for whatever reason, but don’t want to put up with the constant chime emitted by the car’s seat belt warning system.

Suffice to say, it doesn’t take a genius to know just how unsafe it is not to wear a seat belt while driving, given that there’s nothing to restrain you during a crash. Even so, it still happens despite constant warnings and reminders posed to motorists.

Currently, there is now law that prohibits the sale of such products, but MIROS wants to change that. “Such accessories were never deemed illegal and can be sold in the market, including at convenience stores, even though it is obviously dangerous when used by motorists,” said MIROS director-general Dr Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim in a report by Berita Harian.

“Therefore, I feel that there should be a law that can control or restrict the sale of dangerous vehicle accessories to consumers,” he continued, adding that MIROS plans to meet with the ministry of domestic trade and consumer affairs (KPDNHEP) to discuss the issue, particular on enforcement. Khairil also suggested that enforcement could be done in advance to ensure that these dangerous accessories were not sold openly, as drafting a new law could take some time.

In another report by Berita Harian, it was revealed that out of 1,000 road accident cases investigated by MIROS from 2017 until this year, 30% involved drivers and passengers using dummy or decoy seat belt clip in vehicles.

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