PETALING JAYA - Someone loses their life in a Malaysian road accident every 1 hour and 56 minutes, based on official statistics from March 14, 2024, to March 18, 2025.
Even more alarming, a road accident occurs approximately every 50 seconds.
The Star’s analysis reveals these sobering figures as the country approaches the Hari Raya holiday season, when millions travel to their hometowns.
The Cabinet committee on traffic congestion and road safety began releasing daily accident statistics since March 2024 to raise awareness about road safety.
Road accidents surged during festival periods
Statistics show that accident numbers tend to rise sharply in the days leading up to major festivals, dip during the celebrations, and surge again once festivities end as traffic returns to normal.
In 2024, the three days with the highest number of accidents all fell within the week before Hari Raya Aidilfitri - April 5 (2,185 cases), April 4 (2,160 cases), and April 6 (2,156 cases). After a brief decline during the festival, accident numbers spiked again, with 2,146 cases reported on April 15, four days after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Day with highest number of accidents
Monday emerged as the day of the week with the highest average number of accidents at 1,803, followed closely by Friday (1,802) and Tuesday (1,796).
Meanwhile, Sunday saw the lowest average at 1,451 accidents.
However, when it comes to road fatalities, Sunday and Saturday were the deadliest days, each averaging 15 deaths per day.
Monday, Thursday, and Friday followed with an average of 14 deaths daily, while Tuesday recorded the lowest at 12 deaths per day.
Road safety measures to make a difference
Across 2024, Malaysia recorded an average of 1,729 traffic accidents per day, with 14 daily fatalities.
The overall traffic death rate stood at 0.8 deaths for every 100 accidents.
Despite the trend, major police efforts to improve road safety have led to a reduction in the number of accidents and fatalities during major festivals.
For example, the Ops Selamat 23 operation, held over five days from Jan 28 to Feb 2, in conjunction with Chinese New Year, managed to reduce accident cases by 10 per cent, with 7,882 cases compared to 8,784 during the same period in 2024.
In addition, Transport Minister Anthony Loke on March 10 announced that goods vehicles will be prohibited from operating on the roads for four days in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
The ban will be enforced on March 29 and 30, as well as April 5 and 6.
The aim of the ban is to prevent congestion and reduce the risk of road accidents caused by the combination of goods vehicles and private cars.
Malaysia ranks second in Asean for road fatalities
Among South-east Asian countries, Malaysia had the second-highest road fatality rate among Asean nations in 2021, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2024 report.
The country recorded 23.7 road deaths per 100,000 people, trailing Thailand, which topped the list at 29.7. Vietnam ranked third with a rate of 21.7.
Despite these figures, Asean countries have seen a steady decline in road fatality rates over the past four decades.
In Malaysia, the rate dropped from 31.3 per 100,000 people in 1980 to 23.7 in 2021. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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