Strict traffic enforcement to continue after Raya with rising accidents

KUALA LUMPUR: Although Hari Raya is now behind us, the police Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department will continue its total enforcement approach to try and bring down traffic accidents and road fatalities.

According to Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Mazlan Mansor, during the recent Ops Selamat 15 in conjunction with Hari Raya, a total of 24,461 accidents occurred, an increase of 9.1% compared to 22,411 last year.

"The number of fatalities also saw a 0.4% rise, with 249 deaths this year compared to 248 last year.

"We also saw an increase of summonses this year with 350,537 issued compared to 343,863 last year," he told reporters at Bukit Aman on Wednesday (June 19) after an awards ceremony for the best state performance during the Ops Selamat operations this year.

Mazlan said driver attitude needed to be overhauled as it  was a contributing factor to the increase in accidents and fatalities.

"Carelessness contributed to 27% of all accidents with 10,271 cases recorded.

"Losing control of a vehicle is also the main cause in fatal accidents involving 92 cases of the 232 fatal accidents cases recorded this year," he said.

He said the police would study the enforcement design currently employed in order to make it more effective for the future campaigns.

Mazlan said throughout the campaign a total of 771 home break-in cases were recorded, an increase of 40 cases compared to 731 recorded last year.

"Selangor recorded the highest number of break-ins, with 189 cases followed by 81 in Sabah and 72 in Johor," he said.

During the event, Mazlan handed the prize for the best state performance to Kedah police chief Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob.

Terengganu took second place followed by Kuala Lumpur for their overall performance in reducing accidents and break-in cases during the campaign.