Close to 7,000 road fatalities recorded across Malaysia in 2023

PUTRAJAYA: Close to 7,000 road traffic fatalities were recorded in 2023, says Anthony Loke.

Citing police statistics, the Transport Minister said 6,443 fatalities were recorded in 2023, stressing his full commitment to reducing the tragic loss of lives caused by road traffic crashes.

“These numbers underscore the urgent need for renewed and intensified efforts to address road safety challenges.

“We must act decisively and work towards achieving safer roads for all,” he said in his speech during the opening of the Conference on Asia Road Safety 2024 here on Monday.

To raise awareness about the serious number of road accident deaths, Loke said police with guidance from the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Congestion have, since March, released road accident death statistics on a daily basis.

“This initiative seeks to emulate the Health Ministry’s approach during the Covid-19 pandemic when daily reporting of infection numbers helped raise public awareness of the disease,” he said.

Loke said the ministry had also launched the Road-Safety Plan 2022-2030, to significantly reduce the number of traffic fatalities.

To achieve this challenging goal, he said the plan outlines 10 priority areas that address various road safety issues.

“The first three-year action plan (2022–2024) focuses on establishing governance platforms and mechanisms for effectively monitoring and evaluating road safety interventions across these 10 areas.

“As we near the end of this first action plan, it is time to review our progress, refine our strategies and prepare for the next three-year plan (2025-2027) to reduce road traffic fatalities further,” he said.

Loke said public transport is a critical component of Malaysia’s road safety system, citing the introduction of the My50 unlimited monthly travel pass for Prasarana-operated trains and buses in the Klang Valley.

“Currently, the My50 scheme has over 200,000 monthly users, and there are more than 900,000 rail commuters daily in the Klang Valley.

“The increase in public transport ridership reduces the number of passenger car drivers and motorcycle riders on the roads, thereby decreasing their exposure to traffic risks and potentially reducing the number of road crashes,” he said.