KUALA LUMPUR: Human negligence is the main reason contributing to road accident in Malaysia, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
Citing findings from the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research, the Deputy Works Minister said this accounted for 80.6% of road crashes.
This was followed by road conditions (13.2%) and the condition of the vehicle (6.2%).
“Despite our efforts to ensure better roads from a technical aspect, the priority should be towards the attitude and carefulness of drivers,” he said during question time on Monday (Aug 18).
He was responding to a question by Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (PN-Kuala Krai) who asked about a related matter.
On another matter, the deputy minister said further studies must be carried out before replacing existing steel or concrete barriers with alternatives such as roller barriers.
“The functions, suitability of locations and also their cost must be studied, before any replacement works are implemented in phases.
“At the same time, road users must adhere to speed limits. If they exceed this, the impact of the crash can be greater than the impact that can be absorbed by the barrier, reducing its effectiveness.
“Road barriers can only function effectively if people adhere to speed limits,” he said.
Ahmad added that works have been carried out at 194 blackspot locations across federal roads nationwide between 2022 to 2024.
This amounted to RM67.86mil.
“The scope of work here includes road markings, streetlights and suitable signage,” he said.
This was in response to a question by P. Prabakaran (PH-Batu) who asked about plans to replace steel dividers with flexible plastic dividers, rubber dividers or reinforced concrete at high-risk areas.
