Penang CM: Specifications, standards for bridge guardrails need to be reviewed

Chow Kon Yeow. -filepic

BUTTERWORTH (Bernama): Concessionaires have been urged to review the specifications and standards of the installation of  guardrails for the Penang Bridge and the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Bridge.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said this is to prevent incidents of vehicles plunging into the sea from recurring.

He added that the existing guardrails were probably not tall enough to meet the standards necessary to prevent vehicles from plunging into the sea.

“In order to stop such incidents from recurring, it is very important for the authorities to further review the specifications and standards of the guardrails to reduce the risks faced by bridge users.

“Perhaps it (the barrier) is sufficient to prevent ‘normal' accidents but the crash early Sunday was a high impact... which may prove the guardrails to be incapable of preventing vehicles from plunging into the sea, so they  need to be reviewed,” he told reporters after launching a road safety programme here on Monday (Jan 21).

He was commenting on the incident where a sports utility vehicle plunged into the sea at KM4 of the Penang Bridge at 2.54am on Sunday (Jan 20).

Meanwhile, Penang Road Safety Department director M. Thurkahthevi, who was also present, said statistics of road accidents for the state as issued by the Royal Malaysian Police showed an increasing trend every year.

“In 2017, the number of reported accidents was 43,007 cases compared with 42,244 cases recorded in 2016, an increase of 763.

"In 2018 the figure also showed an increase, but we have yet to receive the full data," he said.

However, he added the death toll of road accidents showed a decrease in 2017, which was 401 compared with 411 in 2016.

“Although the number of deaths was declining, the Road Safety Department is proactively conducting road safety campaigns at all levels to achieve zero deaths.

“What needs to be emphasised is to have a safe driving attitude as 80% of the accidents were caused by reckless driving,” he said. - Bernama