PETALING JAYA: With some 7,000 people dying in traffic collisions annually in the country, it is apt that the government is proposing to lower the speed limit to 30kph in residential and school areas.
Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) chairman Prof Dr Wong Shaw Voon said lowering the speed limit could protect vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists from serious injury.
“It is very rare for drivers to intentionally hit or kill someone on the road. Most of us would never do that. However, mistakes sometimes happen since we are only human. But when such incidents occur, should innocent parties be killed in the process? Certainly not, especially when it is preventable,” Wong said.
He said drivers should ask themselves what they must do to avoid such incidents, adding that the answer is just to drive slowly.
The rationale for lowering the speed limit is to prevent victims from sustaining serious injuries.
“If you accidentally hit someone when driving at 30kph, the possibility of the person being seriously injured is just about 5%. By driving at lower speeds, one can actually prevent major collisions.”
Wong also said if everyone drove at the same low speed, although it may be slow, they can reach their destinations much faster during traffic congestion.
“They would be safer too, but most people don’t see it that way.”
He urged the public to cooperate with the authorities so that all motorists benefit from the revised speed limit and keep themselves safe.
“If we can do this together, we are all going to benefit from it. Nobody should be killed on the road, because it is preventable” he stressed.
On Monday, Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias said in the Dewan Negara that the proposal to lower the speed limit of vehicles from 50kph to 30kph in several areas in the city centre will be presented to Kuala Lumpur City Hall next month.
“Data collection and analyses will be carried out and if it is agreed, then it will be implemented in September. The areas involved in the Miros study will be those with current speed limits of 60kph and 40kph,” said Jalaluddin.
The proposal to lower the speed limit was brought forward following the Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in 2020, in which Malaysia also took part.
At the conference, ministers from 80 countries pledged to reduce road fatalities by 2030, which includes enforcing a 30kph speed limit in urban areas.
