Law Teik Hua of Universiti Putra Malaysia’s road safety research centre said the road transport department (JPJ) was usually able to prevent drivers who committed serious traffic violations from renewing their licences.

“With this new policy, it will be difficult for JPJ to enforce the suspension if drivers are allowed to renew their licences for up to 10 years. However, licence extensions should be available to drivers who demonstrate a history of responsible driving,” he told FMT.

Law said the policy just simplified administrative tasks and the process of renewing a driver’s licence.

He suggested the use of electronic driver’s licences to ease the renewal process, as well as to link the driver to records of traffic infractions and crashes.

Earlier this week, transport minister Loke Siew Fook announced that the public could start applying for 10-year licences from next Monday at JPJ offices and counters.

Until now, licences could be renewed yearly or for a maximum of five years.

Loke said those who chose to renew their driver’s licences for 10 years would only be charged for nine years.

An aide to the minister said there was no age limit for those who intended to renew their licences, as long as they were fit to drive.

Meanwhile, road safety consultant Karen Goonting said there was no need for an age limit to be stipulated when renewing driver’s licences. She said whatever concerns there were about driver competence could be addressed by the provisional licence rules.

“The only requirement is once you reach 70 or so, you should need a doctor’s certificate to certify your competency on the road,” she said.

Goonting said there was an underlying understanding among all road safety experts and agencies that a person’s right to drive should not be taken away unless they became a hazard on the road.

She pointed out that the validity extension of driver’s licences to 10 years was not unique to Malaysia, and that countries such as New Zealand, the UK and Australia were already doing this.