Govt urged to gazette 30kph school zone speed limit for students' safety

 

KOTA KINABALU: The government has been urged to immediately gazette and implement a nationwide 30kph speed limit in school zones.

This follows a series of accidents involving students, including the incident in which an 11-year-old pupil was injured outside SK Darau in Menggatal here earlier this week.

The Office of the Children's Commissioner for the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said that preventive action must be taken immediately in view of several school-related road accidents in the country.

They said apart from the latest incident in Kota Kinabalu on Monday (Oct 26), other incidents this year included the death of a Form One student in an accident within a school compound in Kelantan, an eight-year-old pupil killed after being hit by a van at a Johor school entrance, and several cases in which pupils were injured while crossing roads near schools.

"Every child must be able to travel to and from school safely," the Office said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 28).

It noted that the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Congestion approved a 30kph school-zone policy in July 2024 and welcomed Transport Minister Anthony Loke's statement that they were in the process of gazetting the limit along stretches extending 250m before and after school entrances.

However, it said that authorities must make a clear announcement on the timetable for its implementation.

Among the proposed measures are raised pedestrian crossings, speed bumps, improved signage and road markings, safer pick-up and drop-off zones, crossing wardens, and stricter enforcement against speeding during school hours especially during arrival and dismissal periods.

The statement also called for a child-centred "Safe System Approach", explaining that children often have difficulty judging vehicle speeds and traffic risks and should not bear responsibility for their own safety on the roads.

It urged the government to learn from initiatives such as South Korea's child-protection zones and Japan's Zone 30 Plus programme, which integrate lower speed limits with infrastructure improvements and enforcement.

"The government must act now to prevent further deaths and serious injuries involving children on their journeys to and from school," it said. - Star