Motorcycle accidents still the highest

KUCHING: Motorcyclists contributed to the highest number of road accidents last year.

Of the total 897 accidents reported from January to December, 487 involved motorcyclists.

“Out of the 487 motorcycle accidents, 175 were fatal cases, 94 suffered serious injuries, and 218 suffered minor injuries,” Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said in a statement on Monday (Jan 17).

He said 897 of the accidents involved 133 drivers with 52 deaths, 21 had serious injuries and 60 minor injuries.

Fifty-eight car passengers and motorcycle pillion riders were involved in accidents for the period in question last year.

“Out of the total motorcar passengers who were involved, 19 were reported dead, nine had serious injuries and 30 minor injuries.

“Whereas out of the total motorcycle pillion riders involved, 17 were reported dead, 27 suffered serious injuries, and 14 suffered minor injuries,” he said.

As for pedestrians, 48 were involved.

“The rest of the road accidents involved van drivers and passengers, lorry drivers, lorry receptions, cyclists, four-wheel-drive drivers and passengers, and others,” he said.

For the same period in 2020, Lee said of the 315 fatalities reported, 53 per cent or 168 cases involved motorcyclists, 22.5 per cent or 71 cases motorists and 9.5 per cent or 30 cases pedestrians.
The remaining 15 per cent or 46 fatal cases involved vehicles of other categories.

“Over the past 10 years from 2010 until 2020, a total of 12,134 road accidents were reported in the state or an average of 1,213 accident cases annually.

“Motorcycle accidents remain the highest accident-prone machines in at 5,914 cases or 48.7 per cent of the total 12,134 cases,” he said.

Earlier, Lee officiated at the launch of the state/level road safety campaign in conjunction with the CNY celebration 2022 at Jalan Tun Jugah.

Also present was Kuching City South Council (MBKS) mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng.