Bread, butter and bikes

The government's latest campaign to arrest and fine motorcyclists and pillion riders for not wearing helmets has hardly seemed to inspire hope among the public that it will have a positive impact, nor scare potential law breakers.

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The public's reaction to the latest road safety campaign titled “Safe Roads Project” has been quite cynical.

In interviews with TV news channels, motorcycle taxi drivers say the government needs to focus on solving bread-and-butter issues instead of imposing heavy fines on the public.

One pillion rider told the media that people should have the freedom to choose whether to wear a helmet, and many other interviewees admitted that they did not know that passengers now had to wear helmets under the law.

Worse still, many motorcyclists and members of the public see the campaign as opening the door for unscrupulous policemen to extort more bribes from motorbike riders.

Such a cynical reaction does not bode well for public safety.