And now, we have fewer road deaths and accidents – the number of people who were killed on the road fell by 32.7%.
Meanwhile, the number of accident cases have dropped by 36.1% during eight months in the MCO period compared to the corresponding period last year.
Between March 18 and Nov 18, a total of 248,116 cases were reported nationwide.
This is a dip, compared with the 388,015 cases reported during the same period last year.
"It is a reduction of 139,899 cases or 36.1%.
"From the total number of cases, fatal accidents amounted to 2,662 cases this year compared to 3,974 of such cases last year.
“It is 33% less this year," reveals Deputy Comm Datuk Azisman Alias in an interview recently.
The Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) director says while the number of cases were significantly down this year, the number of victims have increased slightly by 11.4% this year.
"A total of 11,230 victims were involved in accident cases this year compared to 10,077 last year.
"However, the number of deaths (as a result of accidents) have shown a decline of 32.7%," he adds.
In terms of states, Selangor recorded the highest number of accident cases during the MCO period with 72,815 cases followed by Johor (33,723 cases) and Kuala Lumpur (29,134), DCP Azisman says.
"Selangor recorded a reduction of 36.9% (115,440 cases in 2019) while Johor recorded 39.7% decline (55,902 cases in 2019) compared to the same period last year.
"In terms of fatal accidents, Selangor tops the list too with 491 cases followed by Johor with 395 incidents.
"For Selangor, it showed a drop of 26.8% compared to last year while for Johor it is a 41.9% reduction," he says.
States with the least accidents between March and November this year were Perlis (946 cases), Terengganu (5,683) and Kelantan (6,269).
DCP Azisman adds that for the number of deaths in fatal accidents, Selangor has the most number with 510 this year but it is a reduction of 28.2% compared to 710 deaths last year.
However, it is Johor that showed the biggest drop in deaths.
"Johor recorded a 42% decline in the number of deaths with 427 deaths compared to 736 deaths last year," he says.
Penang had the third highest road deaths, with 299 deaths recorded this year - a 30.5% decrease from 430 last year.
As for the victims, the number of fatalities were mostly from between the age of 21 and 25 with 385 deaths this year compared to 541 deaths last year, DCP Azisman highlights.
"For that age group, it is a decline of 156 cases or 28.8%.
"The second highest fatalities this year involved the 16-20 age group with 354 deaths compared to 654 last year," he adds.
It is, however, a concern that more children aged between six and 10 died in accidents this year, with 107 deaths recorded compared 91 to last year - making it a 17.6% increase.
Motorcycles contributed the highest number of vehicles involved in fatal accidents during the MCO period with 1,949, which is a 28.6% reduction followed by cars at 508 (40.7% reduction).
Given the high demand for delivery services during the MCO period, DCP Azisman says 12 deaths involving such riders were recorded followed by five who were badly injured while 48 others suffered light injuries.
JSPT personnel had to face various challenges during the conditional MCO period, including various excuses given by road users when stopped at roadblocks.
"Quite a number of Malaysians still try to travel between state or district borders in areas placed under conditional MCO.
"Among the excuses given were attending weddings, visiting an ailing family member or visiting parents.
"Such road users will face problems if they don't have police permission to travel inter state or inter district," he says.
The lack of understanding on conditional MCO is also a challenge for traffic police personnel, he adds.
"It could be that their understanding of conditional MCO regulations is not that clear.
"Traffic police personnel have to explain to them on the regulations, including the ban on inter state and inter district travels," he says.
JSPT personnel, similar to other frontliners are also vulnerable to getting infected despite all personnel following strict standard operating procedures (SOPs), DCP Azisman points out.
"Whenever we encounter road users be it at roadblocks or other circumstances, there is no way to ascertain whether the road users are with symptoms or otherwise.
"We also hope that road users will wear face masks when talking to police personnel especially at roadblocks," he adds.
DCP Azisman reminds people to stay at home during recovery or conditional MCO if they have no urgent matters to attend to.
"Staying at home will lessen the number of vehicles on the road, thus reducing the accident rate.
"Road users should always drive or ride carefully while abiding by all the rules and regulations," he says.
