Driving posture is one of the factors that need to be emphasized in ensuring driver’s comfort and to avoid road accidents and injuries. Meanwhile, fatigue has a strong relationship with comfortable posture and it contributes 15.7% of the total road accidents in Malaysia. Fatigue can reduce driving concentration and performances, thus increases the risk of road accidents and injuries. In order to determine the driver’s comfort, this study had measured muscle contraction using the objective measurement for comfortable and optimum driving posture angles. The equipment used for conducting objective measurement on 14 respondents was sEMG. The researcher had used sEMG equipment to evaluate muscles activities at upper extremities, which comprises of Biceps Brachii (BB), Deltoid Anterior (DA) and Trapezious Upper (TU) that were involved during controlling the car steering. It involves three driving postures parameters according to the fixed elbow and shoulder angles. The results from this study showed the BB muscle increased positively when turning the steering wheel to the right within 3 to 6 times value increased. Meanwhile, DA and TU muscles experience a contraction in the opposite direction with steering wheel turning action, which shows higher right side DA and TU muscle contraction when the driver turn the steering to the left with around 80% decrease for DA and within 60% to 80% decrease value for TU. BB muscle also shows an increasing value of muscle contraction with higher elbow flexion, meanwhile DA and TU muscles contraction also show an increment in-line with greater shoulder abduction. The results showed that posture B with elbow angle at 36° and shoulder angle at 134° are the most comfortable driving postures, hence the lowest muscle contraction value of 15.67μV (BB), 19.31μV (DA) and 12.36μV (TU) compared to the other two measured postures. The results of muscle contraction from this study is capable of assisting researchers and car manufacturers to understand the relationship of steering maneuvering when developing more comfortable and suitable vehicle’s driver seat compartment.

Road transport is the movement of passengers or goods on the road. To date, issues concerning the safety of students and school institutions have continued to attract public attention. The recent spate of incidents insideand outside the school compoundhas brought the issue of children safety into our attention. These include the escalating number of road casualties. This study was conducted to observe road hazard outside the school compound and analyse the safety risksfaced by school children by using the risk matrix. The risks are calculated to include likelihood and severity of hazard as identified in the Guideline of HIRARC 2008. The area selected was the East Coast state of Peninsular Malaysia, with over 111 schools randomly selected in Kelantan. Results werethen analysed and six highlighted hazards were discussed. The results show that the main road posed the highest risk due to speeding vehicles. These vehicles failed to slow down when approaching the school area. The school administrationmustenhance the safety of the staff, students, and public while in the school area. In conclusion, road safety awareness must be instilledamong teachers, students, parents and road users alike.
hazard ; road transport ; school ; children ; teacher ; safety ; hazard identification, risk analysis

Lane Change Assistance (LCA) system in cars can potentially mitigate blind spot related crashes; but its effectiveness largely depends on driver acceptance and proper use. Although still in early stages, the volume of cars equipped with LCA system is expected torise in the near future as the technology has been considered in the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) 2017 Rating Scheme. Therefore, this study is initiated to assess user acceptance of and experience with LCA-equipped cars. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to owners of LCA-equipped cars at selected service centres in the Klang Valley from November 2016 to February 2017. From a total of 276 valid responses, results revealed that most owners greatly considered LCA system when purchasing their cars and agreed that the systems had positively altered their driving behaviours i.e. regularly using the turn signal and checking the side mirrors. Nevertheless, about 20% of the respondents stated theirannoyance and distraction by the LCA systems due to unnecessary warnings from various sources, aside from getting too many warnings during traffic congestion. The study findings provide some practical implications that can aid the industry and relevant stakeholders in gauging the issue and actual situations concerning the use of LCA system in Malaysia.
Driver acceptance ; driver assistance system ; early adopter ; lane change assistance system

This study was conducted to analyses the Biceps Brachii (BB) muscle contraction during different driving postures. Drivers’ posture is one of the factors that contribute to driving fatigue that eventually may lead to road accident and injuries. The experiment conducted for this study is using the surface electromyography (SEMG) method for objective evaluation of muscle involved in driving activities. A total of 14 participants are involved in the experiment. The experiment was done on three different posture based on comfortable angles published by previous research. From the results analysis, the RMS value for activity left turn is lower than activity for right turn for all three postures and results also shows that posture B with elbow angle of 134° is perceived as most comfortable based on the lowest value of muscle contraction with a value of 15.67μV. The outcomes from this study are hoped to benefit both manufactures and also car users in ensuring better and optimum driving postures that can avoid fatigue and injuries.
comfort ; seat design ; surface electromyography ; driving posture ; muscle contraction

Child restraint system (CRS) can protect children in the event of crash and reduce the severity of injuries. As such, it is crucial to understand the prevalence of CRS usage and knowledge attributes on CRS usage among drivers. This study aims to assessdrivers’ knowledge on CRS usage.A semi-structured questionnaire was developed and pilot tested to verify its validity and reliability. The questionnaireaddressesdrivers’ knowledge about CRS currently available in the Malaysian market, the types of restraints used and views on fitting restraints to passenger vehicles. Seventy four percentfrom 500 respondents cited that they are usingor theyhave used CRS,64% knowabout CRS and its function, and 43% areawareof ISOFIX. In short, majority of the respondents are aware of CRS use and functions. Awareness and education program should berigorously introduced to public towards the implementation of the CRS law.
Child restraint system ; children passenger safety ; road traffic accident ; child injury

Road Safety remainsone the most important issuesaffecting educational institutions especiallythe school. The prevalence of road accidentsin recent news reportsunderlines the importance of this issue. Such accidents involving school pupils have further escalated this concern. As such,safety awareness among school teachersis crucial in order for them to identify the suitable methods to prevent more road accidents in future. This study was conducted to analyse teachers’ awareness of road safety in school to gauge the training requirementson road safety. Road safety education and training in school is just as important as improving safety for road users outside schools. For this study, a set of survey questionnaire wasdistributedto 400 school teachers from 111 schools randomly selected from the 10 District Education Offices in Kelantan. Results were then analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). From the results, 40% of respondentswere male and 60% of them were female. Descriptive analysis showed that school teachers understood road safety as 90% of them possessed basic safety knowledge, while 10% of them lacked basicknowledge on road safety. However, they did not implement safety practice that may have contributed to unfortunate eventshappening outside of school including road accidents as reported in the news. This study suggests that school teachers must undergo road safety training to promote and improve road safety in school.With higher awareness and more information about the road safety, the teacherscould create a safer environment in their school. Undoubtedly, teachers have a vital roleto ensure safety of their pupils and their commitment will likely reduce the number of road accidents.
Road ; Safety ; Accident ; Awareness ; Teachers ; Training

This study aims to determine the job satisfaction (JS) level among professional driving instructors (PDIs) in the driver training and licensing system in Malaysia. Specifically, it looks at the influence of income level and remuneration scheme on PDI’s satisfaction. The average income of PDI is relatively low with three remuneration schemes: fixed income; fixed income plus commission; and commission only. The study adopted the cross-sectional survey using the 20-item Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) (short-form) with end-specified 10-point scale. Analysis of the data revealed that PDIs with higher income are more satisfied with their job, t (179) = -3.248, p = 0.001. Similarly, three level One-way ANOVA of JS scores with three remuneration schemes revealed a significant difference of JS across these schemes, F (2,178) = 3.51, p ≤ 0.032. Researchers’ further exploration found a significant interaction between these two variables (income level vs. remuneration scheme), F (5,175) = 4.88, p = 0.001. In general, PDIs with higher income are more satisfied with their job only if they received it as a fixed income (regardless of having commission or not). This insightful finding can be a basis for relevant stakeholders in understanding the influence of income and remuneration scheme towards JS among PDIs in Malaysia.
Job satisfaction ; professional driving instructor ; driver training ; driver licensing ; Malaysia

This study aims to determine the job satisfaction (JS) level among professional driving instructors (PDIs) in the drivertraining and licensing system in Malaysia. Specifically, it looks at the influence of income level and remunerationscheme on PDI’s satisfaction. The average income of PDI is relatively low with three remuneration schemes: fixedincome; fixed income plus commission; and commission only. The study adopted the cross-sectional survey using the20-item Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) (short-form) with end-specified 10-point scale. Analysis ofthe data revealed that PDIs with higher income are more satisfied with their job, t (179) = -3.248, p = 0.001.Similarly, three level One-way ANOVA of JS scores with three remuneration schemes revealed a significant differenceof JS across these schemes, F (2,178) = 3.51, p ≤ 0.032. Researchers’ further exploration found a significantinteraction between these two variables (income level vs. remuneration scheme), F (5,175) = 4.88, p = 0.001. Ingeneral, PDIs with higher income are more satisfied with their job only if they received it as a fixed income(regardless of having commission or not). This insightful finding can be a basis for relevant stakeholders inunderstanding the influence of income and remuneration scheme towards JS among PDIs in Malaysia.

Validity test is important during the development of ergonomics measurement. Failure to conduct validity tests will result in the measurement method being developed to be incapable of providing reliable ergonomics measurements. The objective of this study is to conduct validity test on the simple method ergonomics measurement which was developed. The method named Simple Ergonomics Risks Assessment (SERA). Content validity test and criterion validity test were conducted. The content validity test consists of 6 ergonomics experts who actively provide inputs and positive feedbacks to improve the measurement method being developed. Meanwhile, the criterion validity test involves data collection of complaints on body parts among oil palm workers which were derived from Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and ergonomics risk assessment scores obtained from SERA. Both findings were tested with the Chi-square test to explore possible relations between the two findings. Results from the test conducted showed that there are significant relations in the scores of neck posture; hip, right and left shoulder, right and left wrists and the right hand associated with fresh fruit bunch (FFB) harvesting activities. In the loose fruits collection, the Chi-square test showed significant relations in the scores of neck posture, hip, right and left shoulders, right wrist, right arm and the left hand. However, there are body parts such as the legs which showed no significant relation. More tests should be conducted to further explore the validity of the method being developed. Findings from both validity tests show that SERA were verified by the experts and tested with validated method so that it is valid to be applied in the future.

Agricultural activities have always been associated with hazards and injuries. Most common injuries experienced by workers are health, safety and ergonomic injuries. It stems from many causes, such as the use of manual tools, incorrect working position, inadequate rest and overloading. This paper aims to reveal the daily hazardous work task of oil palm plantation workers with highlighting the ergonomics problems and risk of injury they faced. Observations of work tasks and distribution of Modified Nordic Questionnaire (MNQ) were performed for every work unit. Worker’s activities and posture while performing work tasks were recorded extensively using camera and video recordings for ergonomics analysis. Results from the observation and questionnaire survey conducted, showed that oil palm plantation workers are exposed to the risk of dangerous work every day. Fresh fruit bunches cutter and loose fruit collectors were having highest body pain complaints and almost from them are having low back pain problems. Therefore, it is necessary for an immediate action from the management in order to determine the current prevalence of ergonomic injuries. Using of manual tools should be avoided and plantation workers should be provided with ergonomics machines that can help them reduce their workload and injuries.