KUCHING: The number of road accidents in Sarawak has seen a slight increase of 2.4 per cent, with 19,964 cases recorded from January to November 2024 compared to 19,498 cases in the same period last year.
“While there has been a positive development with a 3 per cent decline in fatal accidents, from 336 cases in 2023 to 326 cases in 2024, this decrease is not significant enough to indicate a major shift in road users’ attitudes towards safety,” said Deputy Minister of Transport Datuk Hasbi Habibollah in a statement on Friday.
There was also a worrying increase in accidents involving public transportation vehicles, with 59 cases reported in 2024 compared to 56 cases in 2023.
However, there were no fatalities involving public transportation this year, compared to one death in 2023.
“Recognising this concerning trend, the Malaysian Road Transport Department (RTD) Sarawak launched the 2024 Christmas Road Safety Campaign,” Hasbi said.
The campaign aimed to educate the public on road safety and enforce road safety laws.
The department will be conducting strict enforcement under the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333) against traffic offenders.
The campaign is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce road accident rates, particularly fatal accidents, in line with the national target to bring down road traffic deaths by 50 per cent by 2030.
“However, the success of these initiatives depends heavily on the cooperation of all parties, especially road users. If some individuals continue to ignore road safety laws, the campaign’s desired impact cannot be achieved,” he added.
The public is encouraged to report traffic violations via the MyJPJ: e-Aduan@JPJ application or by emailing aduantrafik@jpj.gov.my.
