Government to look into “drastic solutions” to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities – Wee

The transport ministry says it is looking into ways to reduce the number of road accidents and prevent fatalities, The Star reports. Transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said that the ministry will be working with the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) to come up with solutions to address the issue.

Yesterday, Wee met with MIROS chairman Datuk Suret Singh and director-general Dr Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim, who briefed him on several studies and recommendations. He said one of the pressing matters that was discussed for future action was the staggering number of accidents involving motorcyclists, who are among the most risk prone groups on the road.

“One of our overarching goals is to bring down the number of accidents towards zero or at the very least, prevent more fatalities on the road,” he said via a statement.

To this end, he said the ministry – together with MIROS and other related agencies – will be devising more drastic solutions for preventive action to reduce road mishaps. He did not however indicate or outline what measures would be introduced.

The country’s road accident rate certainly warrants the concern. Based on police statistics, there were 837,695 reported accidents in 2018, a rise of 4.4% compared to 2017’s figure of 802,523. The highest number of fatalities recorded involved motorcyclists at 4,128 cases, followed by car drivers at 1,167 cases and pedestrians at 407 cases.

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