By: M.Zulkifli
I dread clicking on dashboard cam videos that somehow arrive on my social media timeline cos I know they usually end bad. It gets even sadder when you get to learn of an accident’s victim’s backstory later, and how the tragedy means a family has lost its breadwinner.
According to one news report, a fatal accident occurs every 84 mins in Malaysia. And statistically, we have one of the highest fatality-to-number-of-vehicles ratio in the world. That’s just heartbreaking to know.
What usually gets me though when watching how some of these accidents unfold, is the fact that most of them are avoidable. And while recklessness is a big factor, the lack of patience in motorists are unfortunately a huge contributing factor too. Ignoring the red light at traffic junctions, making illegal u-turns, riding against traffic, are some of the common things we often see.
As Muslims, all of us are taught the virtues of patience from a very young age. “Sabar separuh daripada iman (“patience/forbearance is half of faith),” we are told. But are we living our lives with sabar?
And this might sound simplistic, but I do believe an active campaign on the need for sabar on the roads could actually make a difference, and save lives.
In fact, I tweeted this out to the ex-Minister of Islamic Affairs, Datuk Dr. Zulkifli al-Bakri when he was still in office, as below:
I sincerely hope that those with power and authority do take up this cause to instill a virtue we so desperately need, creating safer habits on the road, that would ultimately save lives too. Insya Allah.
mymuslimin.com 
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