KUALA LUMPUR: Approximately 95 per cent of fatal traffic accidents during festive seasons occur due to drivers' carelessness.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said police record an average of 7,000 traffic fatalities each year.
"Based on analysis from previous operations, 95 per cent of accidents were due to driver's carelessness.
"We are concerned over the high number of fatal accidents during festive seasons. That is why we are continuously conducting such programmes," he said.
Khalid said, during Op Selamat Hari Raya last year, the total number of accidents saw an increase of 524 cases or 2.6 per cent.
The number of fatal accidents however declined by 40 cases while number of deaths recorded decreased by 31, as compared to the previous year.
Khalid was speaking to reporters after launching the Op Selamat 11/2017 in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration between today and July 2 at Menara TM, today.
The theme is the same as last year's, "Rumah Selamat, Selamat Sampai Ke Destinasi."
Khalid advised the public who are returning to their hometowns to fill up the ‘balik kampung’ form at their local police stations to ensure that police's patrol team can keep tabs on their homes.
"In 2015, less than 100,000 people registered during the Hari Raya season. However there was an increase of three per cent compared to 2014.
"We hope that more people will notify us, fill up the forms early so we can better plan our patrols," he said.
He also urged the public to download the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP) which was launched in March, and TM's newly-launched SaveME 999 POLIS in an effort to combat crime, in line with the Community Oriented Policing concept.
"These are all mediums to assist the public in times of emergencies. The applications are there, the public should make use of it," he said.