Learn the lesson
There are a series of accidents recently.
During the Mooncake Festival last year, a mother and her children were attacked by a swarm of hornets when they were going for a late afternoon stroll on a hill near their home. Three children were killed in the accident. A suspension bridge in Kuala Dipang, Kampar collapsed and killed three primary students on 26 Oct. Three Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) undergraduates were drowned after they were swept away by strong current at the Batu Berangkai waterfalls in Kampar on 1 Nov. Four siblings were drowned while looking for snails with their father in the Rajang River at Leba'an on 20 Dec. An express bus driver dozed off at the wheel and caused the double-decker vehicle to skid and crash into the divider of the North-South Expressway, leaving 10 passengers dead and three injured on 26 Dec. A teacher and five students were drowned when their dragon boat capsized in the waters off Macallum Street Ghaut on 17 Jan. A four-year-old boy fell and died when he was looking for his mother, who went out looking for a job, on 18 Jan. A four-year-old girl was crushed to death by a bulky 21-inch television set at her home in Bandar Putra Kulai in Kulaijaya on the same day.
These tragedies are in fact all avoidable accidents. Each time after an accident, everyone, including parents, will remind their children to pay attention to safety. But people are always forgetful and thus, tragedies repeat.
After the dragon boat tragedy, some people said: “Life jackets are useless when there is an undercurrent.” The problem is, the chances of survival will be higher if you put on a life jacket, take all safety measures and know how to swim.
How could the teacher, who did not know how to swim, be on board? Only two among the 18 people on board were wearing life jackets. Why they chose to have training there since there were undercurrents nearby? These showed that they were lack of security awareness. But why were they lack of security awareness?
We gain knowledge and learn morality at schools but we never learn how to pay attention to safety or enhance safety awareness. Teachers will sometimes neglect safety, too. Take the collapse of the suspension bridge in Kampar as an example, how could a camp site located by a river during rainy season?
Also, we learn driving skills at driving schools but we never learn safety measures and defensive driving. There will be no question on safe driving in driving examinations. The express bus driver did not understand the danger of not having enough of sleep while driving and the passengers still got on the bus when they found the driver was sleepy.
Only those with safety consciousness will observe and find out about the surrounding environment before having an outdoor activity. Safety consciousness also comes from common sense. With enough of common sense, we will be aware of possible danger. For example, rainwater trapped uphill may flow down to the waterfall in a strong gush during rainy seasons and we can never stand under a tree when it is thundering.
There are a lot of reports on earthquakes and tsunami recently. Therefore, we must be cautious when we are having marine activities. There are floods in the East Coast every year but there are still drowning accidents there each year.
Schools and parents must not cultivate only high-score students, but they have to teach children the common sense of living, too.
On the other hand, the government has also neglected its advocacy and law enforcement responsibilities. For example, the authority never takes action to stop people from using mobile phones at petrol stations. Are they going to take action only after an explosion?
We are not able to change the past but we can prevent something from happening again. Life is a one-way-ticket and therefore, we should appreciate our loved ones and prevent similar tragedies from happening again. (By LIM SUE GOAN/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily)
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