Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM) together with Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) has just launched a road safety campaign called the PIAM-MTA 2022 Nationwide Road Safety Campaign. 

The campaign that launched together with the hashtag #steadybrader are also participated by JPJ and PDRM representatives that gave speeches in the launch ceremony. The new road safety campaign aims to educate and promote safe driving behavior with the hope to see a decreasing pattern in the numbers of road accidents each year.

Addressing the High Numbers of Road Accidents Nationwide

PIAM chairman, Antony Lee highlighted that based on the statistics from the police, road accidents remain high in Malaysia. 

“According to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia, more than 80% of road accidents are due to negligence according to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia.”

Based on the latest statistics in 2019 as provided by the police showed a total of 6,167 fatalities due to road accidents. This amounts to about 17 fatalities per day due to road accidents.

However, it is not a problem that is found only in Malaysia. 

“Globally, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), on average 1.25 million people perish every year due to road accidents. It is also the number one cause of death among youths aged between 15-29 years.

“WHO predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030 – after heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic pulmonary disease and lower respiratory infections. These global figures drive home the message of how serious the matter is…. Hence, road safety warrants urgent attention from all road users as it claims thousands of lives every year,” he adds.

Important Highlights in the Road Safety Campaign Launched

Through his keynote speech, Road Transport Department (JPJ) enforcement division director Datuk Lokman Jamaan said that among the main contributors of road accidents includes offences such as driving above speed limits, driving against traffic, and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

During the panel discussion session entitled ‘Road Safety – A Shared Responsibility’, both associations JPJ and PDRM emphasized that they welcome and hope to forge collaborative efforts with government agencies and private companies to join them in this year-long road safety campaign to reduce road accidents and save lives.

Two Main Goals With A Series Campaign Activities

Other than to reduce the numbers of road accidents, this newly launched campaign also aims to reduce the fatalities of each accident that happens.

This will be a year-long campaign that includes series of activities such as:

•  Sustained awareness of road safety programmes via digital media
• Road safety educational quiz series
• Community outreach initiatives using gamification
• Various collaborative programmes with government agencies and companies who share similar target for safer roads