PUTRAJAYA: Preventing road accidents must be a joint effort and not a task left solely to the Transport Ministry, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Different agencies must collaborate with the ministry and with each other to prevent accidents, he said, adding that more must be done in light of worrying statistics involving fatal road accidents.
It’s urgent to adopt preventive measures, especially now that the number of fatal road accidents has reached new heights, Ahmad Zahid said.
“However, the responsibility should not only lie with the Transport Ministry and certain agencies,” Ahmad Zahid told reporters after launching the Conference on Asia Road Safety (CARS) 2024 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre yesterday.
Lauding the Social Security Organisation (Socso) for their proactive move to encourage workers who ride motorcycles to contribute to the Human Resources Ministry agency, he said this was necessary to ensure the rider’s welfare is taken care of in case of road accidents.
Ahmad Zahid also said a pilot programme to reduce road accidents, especially around school zones, would be extended to other areas if successful.
This, he added, was to ensure student safety during the commute to and from school.
“While some schools have traffic personnel (to implement the programme), some still do not have them,” he said.
The programme, which includes reducing the speed limit in school zones from 40kph to 30kph, was announced by Ahmad Zahid in July.
He said a study had also found that a speed reduction of 5% could see fatal accidents drop by 30%.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke, however, said it would take time to gazette the new speed limit.
The matter was decided by a Cabinet special committee chaired by Ahmad Zahid but no specific date for its implementation has been set, he added.
“I thank Ahmad Zahid for this bold move as it would help in ensuring the safety of our schoolchildren.
“It would, however, take a bit more time because the matter needs to be streamlined between several ministries such as the Works and Education ministries,” he said.
Also present at the event was Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
The two-day conference gathered over 1,000 road safety experts to discuss critical issues regarding road safety and sustainable mobility.
