KUALA LUMPUR, 18 January 2022 - In an endeavour to reduce road accidents and fatalities as well as to foster greater road safety awareness amongst road users, the Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM) and the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) jointly kickstarted the year-long PIAM-MTA 2022 Nationwide Road Safety Campaign in Kuala Lumpur (“Campaign”) today.
The Campaign aptly themed “#steadybrader”, hopes to educate and promote safe driving behaviour while encouraging road users to remain steady when riding or driving vehicles. With the Campaign, both PIAM and MTA hope that road accidents and fatalities will be significantly reduced amidst the nation’s attention and focus on battling the COVID-19 pandemic for the past two years.
At the launch of the Campaign, Mr. Antony Lee, PIAM Chairman in his opening remarks highlighted that, “Globally, according to the World Health Organisation, on average 1.25 million people perish every year due to road accidents. It is also the #1 cause of death among youths aged between 15-29 years. By 2030, WHO predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death, 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.
PIAM Chairman also highlighted the fact that road accidents remain high in Malaysia, according to statistics from the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), saying that: “Closer to home, the latest statistics in 2019, as provided by the PDRM, showed a total of 6,167 fatalities due to road accidents. This amounts to about 17 fatalities per day due to road accidents. According to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia, more than 80% of road accidents are due to negligence…”.
During the year-long Campaign, PIAM and MTA have lined up a year long series of activities which include:
- Sustained awareness of road safety programmes vide digital media;
- Road safety educational quiz series;
- Community outreach initiatives using gamification; and
- Various collaborative programmes with government agencies and companies who share similar hope and vision for safer roads.
The Campaign was officiated by YBhg. Datuk Lokman bin Jamaan, Director of Enforcement Division of the Road Transport Department (Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan) (JPJ). In delivering the keynote address, Datuk Lokman had confirmed that human negligence is one of the main contributors to road accidents. This includes offences such as driving above speed limits, driving against the traffic and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. He said that: “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…”.
The launch of the Campaign also included a lively panel discussion session entitled “Road Safety – A Shared Responsibility”. Panelists for the discussion included:
- YBhg. Datuk Lokman bin Jamaan, Director of Enforcement Division of JPJ,
- YDH. Supt Dr Bakri bin Haji Zainal Abidin, Principal Assistance Director (Enforcement), Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department of the Royal Malaysia Police, Bukit Aman (PDRM);
- Mr. Antony Lee, PIAM Chairman; and
- Encik Mohamed Sabri bin Ramli, MTA Deputy Chairman.
During the panel discussion, both PIAM and MTA 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 Launch Ceremony of PIAM-MTA 2022 Nationwide Road Safety 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.
