GLOBALLY, road accidents are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5 to 29 and the eighth leading cause of death for people of all ages (World Health Organisation, 2018).
It was reported that in Malaysia, the principal cause of death in road accidents was 16.8 per cent for those aged 16 to 40 and 3.0 per cent for those aged 0-14.
It was surprising to note that, for the first time in 2021, the vehicle population in Malaysia outpaced the human population. The country's population was 32.5 million in 2019 and increased between 300,000 to 400,000 annually, bringing it to about 32.6 million in 2021.
The vehicle population in 2019 was 31.2 million and subsequently increased by one million every year and in 2021 it was registered at 33.3 million! No doubt people will be facing more horrible traffic congestions if the trend continues.
Road accidents, in so far as it relates to road safety issues, is not solely the responsibility of the Transport Ministry. A report by the ministry identified an average of 18 people killed in road accidents daily. Hence road accidents are a serious public health challenge for the nation, warranting an effective policy response.
Motorcyclists make up the highest road fatalities at 59 per cent according to the latest road fatalities index figures between 2010 and 2019. In second place, 21 per cent of fatalities were attributed to passenger cars. Approximately 1.35 million Malaysians died in road crashes each year from 2010 to 2019.
Casualties from road accidents have caused considerable economic losses to individuals, their families and to the nation as a whole. Based on the value of statistical life (VSOL) year of 2018 by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), the government has lost at least RM3.12 million for each life.
The Transport Ministry reported that the most critical factors contributing to road accidents are human behaviour and negligence at 80.6 per cent, compared with road infrastructure, including surroundings and vehicle factor, which contributed to 13.2 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively. The Transport Ministry has acknowledged that the national road safety campaign has failed to achieve its goal in reducing the high accident rate.
Worldwide, the overall ranking of countries' fatality rates has not changed significantly since prior to the pandemic with the safest roads being in Sweden (21 deaths per one million inhabitants) and Denmark (26/million) while Romania (86/million) and Bulgaria (78/million) reported the highest rates in 2022.
The European Union (EU) has set a target of a 50 per cent reduction for road deaths and serious injuries by 2030. This was set out in the Commission's Strategic Action Plan on Road Safety and EU road safety policy framework 2021 to 2030 which also lays out road safety plans aiming to reach zero road deaths by 2050 ("Vision Zero").
Vision Zero is a multi-national road traffic safety project that aims to achieve a roadway system with no fatalities or serious injuries involving road traffic. It was started in Sweden in October 1997.
In the Netherlands, the Road Safety policy is guided by a philosophy of sustainable road safety, based on several key concepts, including that the human being is the reference standard and prevention is preferable to a curative approach.
The five safety principles are 1) road functionality, 2) homogeneity of mass and/or speed and direction, 3) physical and social tolerance, 4) recognition and predictability of roads and 5) behaviour and state of awareness.
In Australia, the government aims to deliver significant reductions in road trauma together with the communities through the National Road Safety Strategy 2021 to 2030 that will pave the path to Vision Zero.
The National Road Safety Action Plan 2023 to 2025 (Action Plan) is the first Action Plan for the strategy. This Action Plan outlines the actions that the Australian state and territory governments will take to implement the Strategy to 2025.
Better road safety requires structures, institutions and organisations. Many parties play a role including public and private agencies and social organisations.
The issue is further complicated because it not only is a topic with its own sector, it is also an aspect of other policy areas such as public health policies, land-use planning and policies for senior citizens.
Since road safety is a multidisciplinary scientific field, every proposed action and measure should be developed and supported through strategies in the areas of engineering, enforcement, education and emergency medical services and by taking into consideration social and economic aspects as well.
However, the implementation of certain countermeasures does not give any real benefit in terms of accident reduction if the proposed action is not based on a thorough road safety engineering experience and practice.
However, tools do not create the road safety future, but trained professionals do. A robust educational curriculum is the only means to communicate the necessary insights and knowledge within the constantly evolving environment of road safety.
After so many years, the question remains. Is there a good enough solution to address road accidents?
The writers are from Centre for Transportation Research, Universiti Malaya