KUALA LUMPUR – A staggering 6,443 traffic-related deaths were recorded in 2023 alone, averaging 18 deaths per day, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi revealed today.
He said that out of the total, 4,480 deaths (69.5%) involved motorcyclists, averaging approximately 12 deaths per day, which means one fatality every two hours.
“The government will continue implementing initiatives in an effort to reduce accident and death rates due to road accidents,” he said in a statement.
“The government remains committed to implementing initiatives aimed at reducing accident and mortality rates resulting from road accidents.
“This includes programmes to update road safety infrastructure, such as the repair of road surfaces and shoulders, as well as improvements for signage, road lines, street lights, and traffic lights,” Zahid said, following a cabinet committee meeting on road safety and congestion today.
The mortality rates over the past year have seen a significant increase compared to 2022, with 6,080 reported fatalities from just over half a million accidents – resulting in an average of 16 deaths per day.
The number was smaller in 2021, with only 4,539 deaths recorded over a scale of 370,286 accidents.
In 2022, the Transport Ministry launched the Malaysia Road Safety Plan, aiming to halve the prevalence of road accidents before 2030.
Meanwhile, Zahid said that the meeting also reached a consensus on the construction of a 7.4-km-long covered pedestrian walkway and the establishment of 175 bus stops in the Klang Valley for the duration of this year. – March 6, 2024