Lower speed can reduce death toll

Star: PETALING JAYA: A 10kph reduction in the speed limit for federal and state roads can bring the death toll down by 24%, according to findings by the Universiti Putra Malaysia Road Safety Research Centre.
Director Prof Dr Radin Umar Radin Sohadi said the proposal by police to reduce the 90kph speed limit on such roads would be a “worthwhile attempt” as such action in the United States, Europe and Australia had proven to be successful in reducing the number of fatalities.
“Based on the local accident records on federal and state roads, most accidents occurred due to reckless driving, indiscriminate lane switching, inability to overtake in time and dangerous overtaking," he told The Star.
He said most motorists travelling on federal and state roads tended to speed.
“Our survey showed they travelled between 100kph and 110kph on these roads, and nobody seems to be bothered about the speed limit," he added.
Dr Radin said accidents on these roads, in most cases, resulted in deaths.
“If the speed limit can be reduced by 10kph, chances are that the impact can be minimised and this can help reduce the death rate," he pointed out.
He urged the police to be strict if the proposal was adopted and advised motorists to adhere to traffic rules.
“Police must introduce on-the-spot fines while motorists must change their driving habits and patterns to ensure the success of the campaign,” he said.
There are 67,000km of federal, state and municipal roads and 1,000km of highways nationwide.
On Sunday, police proposed that the speed limit on federal and state roads be reduced for a week before and after the Hari Raya and Deepavali celebrations.
Based on Ops Sikap X statistics, 13,153 accidents were reported between Jan 23 and Feb 6 this year, which was a 14.8% increase compared with the corresponding period last year.
Selangor recorded 3,347 accidents, the highest number reported nationwide, followed by Johor (1,826), Kuala Lumpur (1,479), Penang (1,380) and Perak (1,373).