KUALA LUMPUR: Addressing road safety is a shared responsibility and any improvement efforts must be reflected across the government agencies to effectively address the issue.
Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye suggested that the matter be studied in detail, with findings and recommendations presented to the government.
"The Road Safety Council can prepare a paper identifying the root causes of road crashes and present it to the cabinet for consideration.
"We cannot rely solely on the Transport Ministry to improve road safety, as other ministries are also responsible (in different aspects)," he told the "New Sunday Times" today.
Lee said potholes or poor road resurfacing work that could cause road accidents would fall under the jurisdiction of the Works Ministry, Malaysian Highway Authority or local governments.
Likewise, if motorists broke the law, which led to road accidents, he said, law enforcement agencies like the police and Road Transport Department would carry out investigations and take action against the offenders.
"As far as the non-governmental organisations are concerned, the issue of road safety needs integrated efforts across the ministries and agencies.
"While we welcome improvements to the public transport system to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, we can't ignore the fact that the issue of road crashes needs urgent attention."
According to a report by the Transport Ministry, with an average of 18 people killed in road accidents daily, road accidents are a serious public health challenge for the nation, warranting an effective policy response.
Malaysia Road Safety Plan 2014-2020 had set the target of reducing 50 per cent of road accident fatalities from 10,716 in 2020 to 5,358 towards achieving the objectives of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
Globally, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced a RM2.3 billion allocation for the maintenance and upgrading of federal roads to address road safety issues when he tabled the 2023 Budget yesterday.
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