In a bid to create awareness about road safety, the government is aiming to make statistics on fatal road accidents available daily to the public. According to transport minister Anthony Loke, the road transport department (JPJ) will coordinate with the police on making the data available, with information about road accident deaths from the previous day being released daily.
“We want to make this a policy so that it can be published by all media. We are hoping for the cooperation of all media, including the print media, to make these figures public to spread awareness,” he said, as reported by The Star.
He added that the data would also be accessible online, done in the same manner as presented by the CovidNow website, which provided updates on Covid-19 related data during the pandemic. “During Covid-19, data on deaths was released daily. The reporting must be similar to that format. We want to let the people know that road accidents are as dangerous as Covid-19,” he said.
The decision to implement the plan was decided following a cabinet committee meeting on traffic congestion and road safety chaired by deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. “We want to change the mindset,” he stated.
This comes following the release of the latest statistics on road fatalities for 2023. Loke said that last year, there were 6,443 road accident fatailities, which translated to an average of 18 deaths daily or a death every 80 minutes, making for the highest figure in five years.
“From this figure, nearly two-thirds of it involved motorcycle, with 4,448 fatilities recorded last year. This is an average of 12 deaths a day and it means that every two hours, there is one fatal accident involving motorcycles,” said Loke.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with myTukar.
