KUALA LUMPUR: The Alliance for Safe Community is disappointed with the lack of allocations to enhance road safety in the 2022 Budget.
Its chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said there is no specific budget allocation to address the growing threat posed by the ever increasing deaths involving motorcyclists.
He said though billions of ringgit have been allocated for other areas, none was set aside to implement road safety projects though road deaths have been one of the biggest sources for loss of lives among Malaysians.
The Alliance submitted proposals and a wish-list for the 2022 Budget to the Finance Minister highlighting the need for dedicated motorcycle lanes along existing roads and highways, he said.
"There has been absolutely no political will to commit financial allocations to make available such motorcycle lanes which if implemented, could save thousands of lives, mostly of young Malaysians.
"This is confirmed based not only on continuous research conducted by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (Miros) but on common sense, too," he said in a statement today.
He stressed that dedicated motorcycle lanes were critical to segregate the two-wheelers from the fast lanes where they are the most vulnerable to crashes.
He said due to the absence of exclusive lanes for motorcycles, most fatal crashes as well as serious injuries involving motorcyclist occurred due to riding and weaving in and out of vehicles on the fast lanes.
He also stressed that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently urged Malaysia to address road safety issues as the country accounts for the third highest death rate in the Western Pacific Region.
He said road traffic injuries account for 14 per cent of deaths among children aged between five to 14-years-old, making it the leading cause of child mortality in the country.
Official figures from Bukit Aman's traffic investigation and enforcement department showed that a total 167,074 lives were lost for all types of road users from 1995 to August this year, or an average of 18 deaths per day during the period, he said.
Between 2001 to August 2021, a total 79,916 motorcyclists were killed in Malaysia and this alone should prick everyone's conscience that something drastic has be done to curb such unnecessary deaths.
"Seven out of 10 road deaths were motorcycle users, making Malaysia close to overtaking Thailand for the world's worst death rate for motorcyclists.
"With the increasing popularity of food delivery services via motorcycles, the death toll will inevitably rise until and unless the government and political leaders come to terms with the harsh reality of such preventable deaths which actually have a huge social and economic impact on the nation," he added.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz proposed RM332.1 billion for the 2022 Budget tabled in parliament last month.
The biggest portion of the budget was set aside for the health and education sectors.