18 deaths a day

PETALING JAYA: Despite the many road safety campaigns being carried out, there were 6,706 deaths on Malaysian roads last year – an average of 18 a day.
Of the fatalities, 62% involved motorcyclists (3,816) and pillion riders (387). Some 11,550 others suffered injuries in the accidents that were largely attributed to human factors.
Federal Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director SAC Datuk Mahamad Akhir Darus, said in the recently released "2015 Statistical Report on Road Accidents" there were 489,606 road crashes nationwide last year, an increase of 2.8% from 2014.‎
He noted, however, that the number of fatalities and injuries saw a reduction of 7.3%, as compared to 2014.
The highest casualties involved those aged between 16 and 20 years (934 cases), followed by 21 to 25-year-olds (828), 26 to 30 years (641), 31 to 35-year-olds (579), with the others aged above 36.
According to the report, Johor had the highest number of road fatalities – 1,040 deaths, an increase of 22 from 2014.
Selangor recorded the second highest with 1,028 deaths, 40 less compared with 1,068 in 2014.
For the second consecutive year, Batu Pahat had the dubious honour of being the deadliest district, with the highest road fatalities, while Petaling Jaya had the most number of traffic collisions in a locality last year.
The areas with the highest number of road deaths were:
» Batu Pahat – 191;
» Kuantan – 155;
» Ipoh – 145;
» Kuala Muda – 121;
» Central Seberang Prai – 118;
» Kajang and Central Malacca – 110 each.
Batu Pahat was also found to have the most unsafe roads in 2014 with 165 fatalities. However, the number of injuries (minor and severe) dropped to 347, compared to 594 in 2014.
The districts with the most number of reported road crashes were:
» Petaling Jaya (25,635)
» Northeast Penang Island (14,696)
» South Johor Baru (14,642)
» Shah Alam (14,562)
» Ipoh (14,260)
» Kajang (14,133)
» South Kelang (13,060).
The report also stated that the most deaths nationwide were on rural roads, claiming 3,731 victims, followed by urban areas (1,277), small towns (827) and major cities (408).
The most common time for road fatalities were between 8.01pm and 10pm, with 682 deaths, and from 4.01pm to 6pm with 668.
July saw the highest number of casualties in both 2015 and 2014, with 705 and 637 deaths respectively, apparently due to the Hari Raya travel period. July also saw highest number of road crashes last year with 43,892 cases.