KUALA LUMPUR: The General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) and the Malaysian Takaful Association's (MTA) year-long "#steadybrader" initiative aims to reduce road accidents and fatalities as well as to foster greater road safety awareness amongst road users.
The PIAM-MTA 2022 Nationwide Road Safety Campaign in Kuala Lumpur hopes to educate and promote safe driving behaviour while encouraging road users to remain steady when riding or driving vehicles.
"Globally, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), on average 1.25 million people perish every year due to road accidents. It is also the number one cause of death among youths aged between 15-29 years.
"WHO predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030 - after heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic pulmonary disease and lower respiratory infections. These global figures drive home the message of how serious the matter is…. Hence, road safety warrants urgent attention from all road users as it claims thousands of lives every year," said PIAM Chairman Antony Lee at the launch of the campaign.
Antony also highlighted that, according to statistics from the police, road accidents remain high in Malaysia.
"Closer to home, the latest statistics in 2019 as provided by the police showed a total of 6,167 fatalities due to road accidents. This amounts to about 17 fatalities per day due to road accidents. More than 80 per cent of road accidents are due to negligence according to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia."
During his keynote speech, Road Transport Department (JPJ) enforcement division director Datuk Lokman Jamaan said offences such as driving above speed limits, driving against traffic, and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs are the main contributors to road accidents.
"I am very glad to officiate the launch of this year-long road safety campaign by PIAM and MTA as we cannot ignore the high figures of fatalities caused by road accidents. It is my earnest hope that this campaign will instill a greater sense of awareness with regards to road safety among Malaysians and reduce road accidents," said Lokman.
The launch ceremony of the campaign was attended by key government agencies, academicians from universities, associations, representatives of member companies from respective associations and various media representatives who participated in the event via a virtual platform.
During the panel discussion session entitled 'Road Safety – A Shared Responsibility', both associations emphasised that they welcome and hope to forge collaborative efforts with government agencies and private companies to join them in this year-long road safety campaign to reduce road accidents and save lives.
The year-long series of activities as part of the campaign includes: Sustained awareness of road safety programmes via digital media, road safety educational quiz series, community outreach initiatives using gamification and various collaborative programmes with government agencies and companies who share similar hopes and vision for safer roads.