Govt wants to cut road deaths by half by 2030

 Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says motorcyclists and pillion riders made up about 66% of the fatalities last year.

Deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the success of the road safety campaigns is not measured by how many operations are carried out but by lives saved. (PDRM pic)

PETALING JAYA:

The government wants to cut road deaths by half by 2030, after 6,537 people were killed in crashes last year, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

Zahid said the relevant ministries and agencies must work more closely and ensure that road safety measures reduce deaths and serious injuries.

“The measure of our success is not how many campaigns or operations we carry out, but how many lives we can save,” he said in a statement after chairing a Cabinet committee meeting on road safety and congestion today.

Motorcyclists comprised the majority of the victims.

Zahid said while motorcycles accounted for about 14% of the vehicles involved in accidents, riders and pillion riders made up about 66% of all road deaths.

This meant that almost two out of every three people killed on the roads were on motorcycles.

He said the numbers showed that the government could no longer rely on the usual approach to road safety.

Renewed efforts should focus more on those most at risk, while also improving roads, enforcement, education, health measures, and town planning.

Zahid also said road-related deaths caused an estimated RM30 billion in losses to the country last year.

Workers travelling to and from work were another concern, with Socso figures showing the death rate from commuting accidents was 2.4 times higher than accidents at the workplace.

He said Socso, police, the road transport department, and employers would work together to identify workplaces and areas with a higher risk of accidents.

The government would also introduce a road safety programme for heavy vehicles in stages, with the initiative focusing on defensive driving, driver fatigue, and monitoring driving behaviour. - FMT