Most fatal accidents that occur during festive periods due to carelessness of drivers: IGP

KUALA LUMPUR: An estimated 95% of fatal traffic accidents during festive periods are due to the carelessness of drivers according to the police.
Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said police recorded an average of 7,000 traffic fatalities each year.
"Based on analysis from previous operations, 95% of accidents were due to the carelessness of drivers.
"We are concerned over the high number of fatal accidents during festive seasons. This is why we are continuously conducting such programmes," he said after launching the Op Selamat 11/2017 in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration which commenced today and will go on until July 2.
Khalid said, during Op Selamat Hari Raya last year, the total number of accidents saw an increase of 524 cases or 2.6%.
The number of fatal accidents however declined by 40 cases while number of deaths recorded decreased by 31, as compared to the previous year.
Khalid also urged the public who are returning to their hometowns to fill up a form at their local police stations to ensure that police patrol teams can keep tabs on their homes.
"These are all mediums to assist the public in times of emergencies. The applications are there, the public should make use of it.
"In 2015, less than 100,000 people registered during the Hari Raya season. However there was an increase of three per cent compared to 2014.
"We hope that more people will notify us and fill up the forms early so we can better plan our patrols," he said.
He also urged the public to download the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP) which was launched in March, and TM's newly-launched SaveME 999 Polis in an effort to combat crime, in line with the Community Oriented Policing concept.