M’sia records more road accidents in 2019, over 280,000 cases in first 6 months
There have been more than 280,000 road accidents recorded nationwide during the first six months of this year.
Bukit Aman Investigation and Traffic Enforcement director, Datuk Azisman Alias said between January to June 2019, 281,527 accidents have been reported all over the country. This number is a 2.5% increase from last year, which saw 274,556 accidents in the same period.
According to Azisman, Selangor held 29.7% of all road accidents nationwide (83,607 cases), followed by Johor with 14.6% (41,161 cases) and Kuala Lumpur with 12.9% (36,288 cases).
FYI, Selangor and Johor recorded the most number of fatalities at 482 followed by Perak with 302 fatalities.
With so many unnecessary injuries and deaths caused by road accidents, we here at The Rakyat Post would like to remind our readers to slow down and follow these 8 tips to keep collisions and accidents to a minimum!
1. Slow down when merging into traffic.
Is it just us, or do makciks really like to swerve out from a turn into the middle lane without checking for traffic first? It’s “Stop, Look, Listen”, aunty.
Be aware of blind spots, including those in rear view mirrors and behind windshield pillars or highway road signs and check for these before you merge. Nanti kalau kena side-swiped jangan marah.
2. Watch for red light runners
Firstly, yellow means slow down and red means stop. But since we’re living in Malaysia, even when the light turns green, wait a moment before moving. Look both ways and confirm no one is speeding through a red light before you jalan.
3. Keep at least one hand on the steering wheel AT ALL TIMES.
Keep distractions inside your car to a minimum. Avoid changing the music, checking your phone, eating or doing anything that will momentarily cause you to take a hand off the wheel and eyes off the road.
Dah la Malaysia has a lot of potholes, even a gust of wind, or a blown tire can cause your vehicle to swerve into another lane and cause a serious accident.
4. Watch for kids and animals
Children and animals tend to suddenly pop out from between parked cars and onto the road. So, if you’re driving in a residential area or next to a school, slow down.
Throwback to when an ostrich ran down Federal Highway. 😂 I wonder who was playing Jumanji then? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/guOLxaNv6I
— Celcom Axiata (@Celcom) December 18, 2017
5. Send your vehicle for regular maintenance
Avoid vehicle failures by changing the oil regularly, keeping the battery in check and keeping tires properly inflated.
6. Look behind you when you gostan
Don’t completely depend on your mirrors when reversing out of a parking space. Instead, physically look over your right shoulder while steering and slowly reversing to alleviate blind spots created by your mirrors.
7. Don’t tailgate
Malaysians are no strangers to these kind of a**holes. Not only do they melekat to your rear, they also flash their high beams to momentarily blind you (it’s almost like they think that by blinding you, it’ll make it easier for you to move out of the way).
Always leave some space between you and the car in front of you so that if they suddenly brake, you will have some time and space to slow down without rear-ending them.
But if you’re driving slow, don’t hog the fast lane.
8. Share the road with other drivers and motorcyclists.
The road doesn’t belong to your father. Even Datuk Seri Najib Razak doesn’t own Jalan Tun Razak. So, share the road with other drivers, treat them with respect and report any suspicious driving activity to the authorities.
It’s up to us, the road users, to keep ourselves and other people using the road, safe.
