KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians’ growing awareness of road safety and vehicle security has led to a decline in cases of both vehicle theft and traffic accidents in 2024, says the Vehicle Theft and Accident Reduction Council of Malaysia (Vtarec).
Its chairman, Datuk Lokman Jamaan, said the number of road accidents reported by the insurance industry fell to 266,716 cases in 2024, from 299,657 in 2023, a decrease of just under 11%.
He said the total cases involved 229,739 cars, 15,149 motorcycles and 21,828 commercial vehicles.
He noted that the figures from the insurance industry were slightly less compared to statistics from the police in both years.
“This is because insurance industry statistics reflect claims made by vehicle owners whose vehicles are insured.
“Meanwhile, police statistics cover all accident cases, including those without insurance coverage,” he said during his speech at the launch of the council’s public vehicle theft and road accident awareness campaign yesterday.
On a similar note, Lokman said vehicle theft cases fell to 3,925 in 2024 from 4,370 in 2023.
The vehicle theft cases included 1,771 private cars, 1,833 motorcycles and 321 commercial vehicles.
Lokman warned that commercial vehicle thefts remained alarmingly high, driven by strong demand in illegal markets.
“As the next step, Vtarec will intensify collaboration with ministries, agencies and other stakeholders.
“This will include ramping up eradication efforts, preventive measures and interventions against vehicle theft syndicates, cloned vehicle syndicates and syndicates involved in the ‘rebirthing of total lost vehicles’ and ‘cut cars’,” he added.
