Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM), or the General Insurance Association of Malaysia, and the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) launched a joint road safety campaign to promote road safety.
The PIAM-MTA 2022 Nationwide Road Safety Campaign themed #steadybrader hopes to educate and promote safe driving behaviour while encouraging road users to remain steady when riding or driving vehicles.
The campaign was officially launched by Road Transport Department (JPJ) enforcement division director Datuk Lokman Jamaan.
With the campaign, both PIAM and MTA hope that road accidents and fatalities will be significantly reduced.
In his keynote address, Lokman said one of the main contributors to road accidents is human negligence which includes offences such as driving above speed limits, driving against the traffic and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
“We cannot ignore the high figures of fatalities caused by road accidents. It is my earnest hope that this campaign will instill a greater sense of awareness with regards to road safety among Malaysians and reduce road accidents,” he said.
PIAM chairman Antony Lee said the World Health Organization estimated that on average 1.25 million people died from road accidents globally every year.
“Road accident is also the No. 1 cause of death among youths aged between 15-29 years. By 2030, WHO predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death, 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 said.
Lee also said statistics from the police revealed that road accidents remained high in Malaysia.
“Closer to home, 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. According to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia, more than 80% of road accidents are due to negligence,” he said.
During the year-long campaign, PIAM and MTA have lined up a series of activities which include:
- Sustained awareness of road safety programmes vide digital media;
- Road safety educational quiz series;
- Community outreach initiatives using gamification; and
- Various collaborative programmes with government agencies and companies who share similar hope and vision for safer roads.
The launch of the campaign also included a panel discussion session entitled “Road Safety – A Shared Responsibility”.
Panelists for the discussion included Lokman, Lee, Supt Dr Bakri Zainal Abidin, principal assistant director (enforcement) from the Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement department; and MTA deputy chairman Mohamed Sabri Ramli.
During the panel discussion, both PIAM and MTA said they looked forward to collaborative efforts with government agencies and private companies in the year-long road safety campaign to reduce road accidents and save lives.
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