Globally, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged five to 29 and the eighth leading cause of death for people of all ages.
The Statistics Department of Malaysia reported that in 2021 transport accidents were among the top five contributors to death apart from chronic diseases such as ischaemic heart diseases, pneumonia, cerebrovascular diseases and malignant neoplasm of trachea bronchus and lung.
It was surprising to note that for the first time in 2021, the vehicle population in Malaysia outpaced the human population.
The country’s population was recorded at 32.5 million in 2019 and increased between 300,000 and 400,000 annually, bringing it to about 32.6 million in 2021.
Meanwhile, the vehicle population in 2019 was 31.2 million and subsequently increased by one million every year, and in 2021 it was registered at 33.3 million.
There is no doubt that people will be facing more traffic congestion if the trends continue for years ahead.
Road accidents are much related to road safety issues, which are not solely the responsibility of the Transport Ministry (MOT).
Rather it is a shared responsibility and improvement efforts must be reflected across the government agencies in addressing the issues.
A report by the MOT identified an average of 18 people were killed in road accidents daily.
Road accidents are a serious public health challenge for the nation, warranting an effective policy response.
Furthermore, motorcyclists make up the highest number of road fatalities at 59%, according to the latest Malaysia Road Fatalities Index figures between 2010 and 2019.
Secondly, 21% of fatalities were attributed to passenger cars among various road users.
Approximately 1.35 million Malaysians died in road crashes each year from the period of 2010 to 2019.
On average 3,700 people lost their lives every day on the roads.
According to the Royal Malaysian Police, 418,237 road accidents were reported in 2020 despite the movement control order during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Although the number of vehicles has been reduced on the road due to travel restrictions, thus, reducing the number of accidents, it does not prevent road users from driving at high speed which has been identified as one of the main contributors to fatal accidents.
Road traffic injuries are said to cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families and nations as a whole.
Based on the value of the statistical life year of 2018 by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research, the government has lost at least RM3.12 million for each life.
The Transport Ministry reported that the most critical issue contributing to road accidents is human behaviour and negligence at 80.6% compared with road infrastructure including the surrounding and vehicle factor which contributed 13.2% and 6.2%, respectively. The ministry further admitted that road safety campaigns failed to achieve the goal of reducing the accident rate.
The first Malaysia Road Safety Plan (MRSP) 2006 to 2010 has been introduced by the ministry as an effort to address road safety issues in Malaysia, with the main objectives being to set a direction, focus areas and strategic planning to handle road safety issues, especially from the aspect of reducing road fatalities.
The Plan focused on the concept of 4E which are education, enforcement, engineering and environment.
The second MRSP 2014 to 2020 was developed as a continuation of the previous MRSP and was based on five strategic pillars, which are road safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicle, safer road user and post-crash response.
The third MRSP 2022 to 2030 is based on the experiences of the two previous MRSPs and the basic framework of the Global Road Safety Decade Action Plan from 2011 to 2020.
Additionally, the current issues related to road safety at the Malaysian level are the foundation for developing the overall structure of MRSP from 2022 to 2030.
The third MRSP outlined a framework containing 10 priority areas that focuses on improving road safety in Malaysia.
Those priority areas were adapted from the five strategic pillars of road safety set by the United Nations which are road safety management, safer vehicles, safer road users, post-crash response and safer driving environments.
Worldwide, the overall ranking of countries’ fatality rates has not changed significantly since prior to the pandemic, with the safest roads in Sweden (21 deaths per one million inhabitants) and Denmark (26/million) while Romania (86/million) and Bulgaria (78/million) reported the highest rates in 2022.
The European Union has set a target of a 50% reduction in road deaths and also serious injuries by 2030.
This was set out in the Commission’s Strategic Action Plan on Road Safety and EU road safety policy framework 2021 to 2030, which also laid out road safety plans aiming to reach zero road deaths by 2050 (Vision Zero).
Vision Zero is a multi-national road traffic safety project that aims to achieve a roadway system with no fatalities or serious injuries involving road traffic. It was started in Sweden in October 1997.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, the road safety policy is guided by a philosophy of sustainable road safety based on several key concepts, including that a human being is the reference standard and prevention is preferable to a curative approach.
The five safety principles are 1) road functionality, 2) homogeneity of mass and/or speed and direction, 3) physical and social tolerance, 4) recognition and predictability of roads; and 5) behaviour and state of awareness.
In Australia, the government aims to deliver significant reductions in road trauma together with the communities through the National Road Safety Strategy 2021 to 2030 which will put direction on a path to Vision Zero.
Meanwhile, the National Road Safety Action Plan 2023 to 2025 (Action Plan) is the first Action Plan for the strategy.
This Action Plan outlines the actions the Australian, state and territory governments will take to implement the Strategy in 2025.
Overall road safety improvement is not something that just happens or comes into being as a result of, for instance, free market processes.
Better road safety requires structures, institutions and organisations, and many parties may play a role, whether public and private parties or social organisations.
The issue is further complicated because it is not only a topic with its own sector, it is also an aspect of other policy areas such as public health policies, land-use planning, policies for senior citizens and so on.
Since road safety is a multidisciplinary and multivariate scientific field, every proposed action and measure should be developed and supported through strategies in the areas of engineering, enforcement, education and emergency medical services, taking into consideration social and economic aspects as well.
However, the implementation of certain countermeasures does not provide any real benefit in terms of crash reduction if the proposed action is not based on thorough road safety engineering experience and practice.
However, tools do not create a road safety future, but trained professionals do.
A robust educational curriculum is the only means to communicate the necessary insights and knowledge within the constantly evolving environment of road safety.
Within this, the Centre for Transportation Research in Universiti Malaya took the initiative to introduce a new Master’s programme by coursework, Master of Road Safety Engineering, with the first intake in October.
All subjects, such as traffic engineering and safety, road safety management, road safety audit and traffic risk analysis and human behaviour in road safety - to name a few - are relevant to the issues.
The Master of Road Safety Engineering is a programme that is relevant to the country’s current needs in dealing with road safety issues.
The focus of the programme is to provide in-depth knowledge and exposure to theoretical and practical learning in road safety.
The syllabus for the course offered will be evaluated from time to time according to the needs of the industry and sector related to the application of impactful education practices.
The writers are from the Centre for Transportation Research, Universiti Malaya. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
