GEORGE TOWN: A consumer watchdog has called on the government for urgent action to address the growing safety crisis as road accidents involving commercial vehicles continue to rise.
Mohideen Abdul Kader, president of the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP), said there has been an increase in road accidents involving heavy vehicles.
Factors such as speed, poor driving habits, congested roads, bad road conditions, and weak enforcement all contribute to Malaysia’s high accident rate, he said, adding that such tragedies have seen entire families tragically wiped out.
“Yet, most of us remain largely indifferent.
“What have the agencies and policymakers done? They have treated the issue too lightly, allowing the carnage to continue unchecked,” he said in a statement today.
The call comes ahead of the Chinese New Year celebrations this week, when millions of motorists are expected to hit the highways, taking advantage of the long holidays.
Road safety in Malaysia has become an increasing concern, with high numbers of accidents, fatalities, and injuries reported each year.
Mohideen also emphasised the need to encourage public transport as part of a broader strategy to reduce road accidents.
It was reported last month that 1,457 deaths were recorded in 3,500 road accidents involving lorries across the country from January 2019 to November 2024.
Federal police Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said that during the same period, 473 cases of serious injuries and 1,076 cases of minor injuries were reported.
The highest number of deaths (274) was recorded in 2019, followed by 2024 (260), 2023 (235), 2022 (232), 2021 (230), and 2020 (226).