Accidents up in Raya rush this year
PETALING JAYA: More than 15,000 road accidents and 123 deaths were recorded during the Hari Raya travel period this month, according to statistics from Bukit Aman's Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department.
This marked a 3.8% increase in the total number of road accidents between March 29 and April 6 (15,246) compared to the Hari Raya travel period between April 6 and April 14 last year (14,674).
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As for the number of deaths related to road accidents, the data showed a 29.3% decline.
A total of 123 people lost their lives in road accidents between March 29 and April 6 this year compared to 174 during the travel period last year.
For the travel period this year, March 29 recorded the highest number of road accidents at 2,040 while the highest number of fatalities was on March 30 (20).
The highest number of road accidents during Hari Raya celebrations last year was on April 6 (2,156), while the highest number of deaths was on April 10 (35).
Hari Raya celebrations fell on March 31 this year and April 10 last year.
Op Selamat statistics showed a similar trend in which the 2024 operations, which lasted between April 8 to April 13, recorded 8,909 accidents and 111 fatalities.
For Op Selamat 2025, which took place between March 29 and April 3, a total of 9,859 road accidents and 85 fatalities were recorded. This marked a 10.66% increase in the number of accidents and a 23.42% decline in related fatalities.
Road safety expert Assoc Prof Dr Law Teik Hua said the drop in road fatalities suggests that emergency response times, vehicle safety standard and possibly even driving behaviour had improved.
'However, the fact that overall accidents increased, albeit slightly, reminds us that the underlying risk on our roads remains high.
'Every crash, regardless of severity, carries emotional, physical and financial consequences.
'The volume of incidents still points to systemic road safety challenges,' said Law, who heads the Road Safety Research Centre at the Engineering Faculty of Universiti Putra Malaysia.
He said there should be efforts such as strengthening enforcement during peak travel periods, enhancing driver education about fatigue and behaviours like speeding, and ensuring public transport alternatives are safe and accessible.
'Infrastructure improvements like clear road signage, better lighting and speed-calming measures can also help mitigate crash likelihood,' he said.
Law said real-time traffic data, smart traffic management systems and dashcam artificial intelligence analytics could help identify accident-prone zones and driver behaviour.
'Public campaigns should evolve from awareness to behavior change, leveraging psychology and targeted communication to truly influence drivers,' he said.
Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research chairman Prof Dr Wong Shaw Voon urged motorists to drive safely at all times.
'We shouldn't practise safe behaviour only when we know enforcement officers are watching.
'This is about our own lives, and also that of our loved ones who are with us in the vehicle,' said Wong.
'Enforcement authorities are doing their best to make the roads a safer place but every road user plays a role towards achieving this as well,' he added.
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