289 deaths the worst on Ops Sikap record

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 7, 2011): The number of road accidents and deaths recorded under Ops Sikap 24 during the Hari Raya season was the highest since the operation was launched a decade ago.

A total of 289 people died in 19,606 road accidents during the 15-day operation which ended on Tuesday. Motorcyclists and pillion riders made up 179 or 62% of the fatalities.

There was an 18% jump in fatalities compared to 244 during last Hari Raya and a 16.5% rise in the number of accidents compared to 16,817 last year.

Before Ops Sikap 24, the highest number of road deaths recorded during Hari Raya was 285 in 2002, and 265 in 2009.

According to police who issued 133,808 summonses for various traffic offences during the operation, more accidents occurred on federal roads than on highways.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said as in the past years, speeding and the increase in the number of vehicles were among reasons for the steep rise.

“During a time of celebration like this, hundreds have been killed in accidents that they could have been avoided. I am saddened by what has happened.” he told theSun today.

“Malaysians are warm and friendly but they become entirely different people when they hit the road. Apart from the increasing number of vehicles on the road or perhaps physical fatigue, I would say the main factor which leads to such mishaps is attitude (of drivers and motorcyclists),” he said.

“There are so many reckless drivers out there. If only they can learn to be more patient and considerate, we will surely see more favourable statistics,” he said.

Ismail said apart from a few roads which might pose higher risks to motorists, Malaysian roads and highways were among the best in the world.

“Almost every stretch of road is the country is safe for travel with the exception of a handful but the drivers and riders endanger themselves and others by the way they drive or ride. We need to do more to address this problem as we cannot allow such alarming number of deaths to occur each time there is a festival.” he said.

Ismail said police were compiling and finalising their records for Ops Sikap 24 and were expected to hold a press conference tomorrow to reveal details of the statistics.

Barely five days after it was launched, road accident statistics recorded under Ops Sikap 24 had gone by 20% (compared to the previous year) and showed little improvement throughout the period.