KUALA LUMPUR: The majority of fatal accidents reported during Deepavali were the result of reckless and dangerous driving, Bukit Aman Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said.
He said statistics gathered by the department showed a total of 6,013 accidents were reported between Oct 31 and Nov 3, with 60 fatalities were recorded during this period.
"Our checks revealed that the main cause for many of these fatal accidents was due to reckless and dangerous driving," he told reporters after attending the department's monthly assembly at Bukit Aman on Tuesday.
Yusri added that the police conducted a total of 388 operations nationwide which resulted in 98 arrests and 647 vehicles seized during the period.
"A total of 91 motorists were arrested for offences under the Road Transport Act 1987, 3 under the Dangerous Drugs Act, 2 under the Penal Code while 1 individual was arrested for other offences.
"We also conducted operations on mat rempit during this period which saw the arrest of 51 individuals and the seizure of 328 motorcycles," he said.
He said 119 operations were arrested, which led to the arrest of 45 people due to reckless and dangerous riding, two for fancy license plates and four arrested for various other offences.
Meanwhile, on accidents involving motorcyclists, Mohd Yusri said they have observed a 10.01 per cent decrease in cases following a special month long operations on motorcycles from Sept 12.
"During this period we recorded 2,461 cases compared to 2,735 cases during the same period last year.
"We also saw a 26.03 per cent drop in fatal motorcycle accident cases during the same period with 321 cases recorded compared to 434 cases during the same period in 2023," he said, adding these fatal accidents led to 324 deaths compared to 436 deaths respectively.
He said such operations were an ongoing effort by the department in a bid to reduce accidents and deaths involving motorcyclists and their pillion riders.
"We urge motorists to always abide by the traffic regulations," he said.