KAJANG: Learner drivers will soon have to go through a more comprehensive syllabus so that they can become better drivers.

The new curriculum will close the “gaps”, mostly in the area of road safety, in the current syllabus while tests may be conducted in cars or motorcycles fitted with video cameras, sensors and instruments that will detect every move – and mistake – which the driver makes.

The new curriculum, which will be implemented in the next three to six months, has been drawn up by the Malaysian Institute for Road Safety and Research (Miros) which was set up by the Government to improve road safety.

Miros director-general Prof Dr Radin Umar Radin Sohadi said the new curriculum was part of a larger programme called the Road User Assessment Programme (RUAP).

“The ultimate aim is to create five-star drivers,” he said.

He said that while the rest of the world took a “systems approach” which looked at enforcement and infrastructure, Malaysia wanted to focus on the road user.

As an example, Prof Radin Umar said that under the current motorcycle syllabus, unlike for cars, riders were only trained and tested in a circuit.

“This is a controlled environment and offers the learner no experience of what it is like in the real world.

“In future, learners will be taken out on the road where they will be exposed to real world traffic during training.

“Their tests will also be carried in real world traffic,” he said.

Prof Radin Umar said motorcycle learners would go out in groups of eight together with two instructors in conspicuously coloured motorcycles to ensure their safety.

On the instrumented vehicles, Prof Radin Umar said the video cameras and sensors installed would enable driver behaviour and habits while on the road to be monitored objectively.

“The vehicles are still being calibrated and will have to be tested extensively before being implemented,” he said.

Prof Radin Umar said another aspect of RUAP was that surveys on Malaysian road users would be carried out periodically.

This was to assess how good the users were in understanding traffic laws.

“This will also serve as a way to get feedback to further improve our driving syllabus and other aspects of RUAP,” he said.

Prof Radin Umar said RUAP was a long-term initiative to create a safer road environment.

“We hope to be able to have drivers who are not only aware of safety procedures but also know why it’s there,” he said.