The campaign aptly themed “#steadybrader”, hopes to educate and promote safe driving behaviour while encouraging road users to remain steady when riding or driving vehicles.
With the Campaign, both PIAM and MTA hope that road accidents and fatalities will be significantly reduced amidst the nation’s attention and focus on battling the Covid-19 pandemic for the past two years.
At the launch of the campaign, PIAM chairman Antony Lee said World Health Organisation (WHO) had estimated that 1.25 million people on the avarage died in road accidents.
"It is also the top 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 road showed 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 year long series of activities which include:
> Sustained awareness of road safety programmes through 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 campaign was launched by Road Transport Department (JPJ) director of Enforcement Division Datuk Lokman Jamaan.
In his keynote address, Lokman confirmed that human negligence is one of the main contributors to road accidents.
This includes offences such as driving above speed limits, driving against the traffic and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Lokman said the stakeholders in road safety authorities 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.
The launch of the Campaign also included a lively panel discussion session entitled “Road Safety – A Shared Responsibility”.
Panelists for the discussion included Lokman; Lee; Bukit Aman principal assistant director (Enforcement), Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department Supt Dr Bakri Haji Zainal Abidin and MTA deputy chairman Mohamed Sabri Ramli.
During the panel discussion, both PIAM and MTA emphasised that they welcomed and hoped 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.
