Sports safety standards, procedures need to be reviewed: Niosh

KUALA LUMPUR: All existing safety standards and procedures relating to sporting events on roads should be reviewed to look for any weaknesses, said National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
He said this was because marathon and other sporting events that use roads are becoming increasingly popular among Malaysians.
"The Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) and all organisations representing athletes should take this safety issue seriously and work with the authorities to draft and implement high standards for sports on roads," he said in a statement today.
He was commenting on the case of marathon runner Evelyn Ang, who passed away on Thursday after suffering a cranial fracture and bleeding in the brain when she was hit by a car during the Klang City Inter­national Marathon in December last year.
Lee said accidents could be avoided if the parties concerned, especially the authorities and the organisers, practiced good occupational safety and health management based on the concept of hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control (HIRARC). — Bernama