KUCHING: The road accident statistics recorded a slight increase this year as compared to 2017.
On the statistics given by the Sarawak Traffic Investigation and Enforcement, from Jan 1 until Dec 28 this year, the total number of accidents is 19,566 compared to 19,111 in the same period last year.
The number of accident indicates additional 455 accident cases which equals to 2.3 percent.
For the record, the accident statistics with no injury also indicates an increase of 18,917 cases this year compared to 18,310 last year, showing an addition of 607 cases or 3.3 percent of the figure.
However, under road accidents with fatalities, critical injuries and minor injuries, the figure shows a declining trend.
Fatal cases this year recorded a total of 315 cases, a decrease of 42 cases compared to 357 cases last year, which equals to 11.76 percent decline.
There is a decrease of 39 cases for critical injuries with 167 cases for this year and 206 cases recorded last year, which is an equivalent of 18.93 percent decrease.
Meanwhile, cases with minor injuries record a decline of 71 cases or 29.83 percent with 167 cases this year compared to 238 cases for last year.
From the record as well, there is an increasing number of vehicles involved in road accidents from 29,858 in last year to 31,644 in this year with 1,786 additional vehicles or an increase of 5.98 percent.
On top of all the cases, there were some cases considered as the most tragic accidents to occur in the state. Among the top cases was an oil tanker laden with petrol that crashed onto a steel-divider and overturned along the Siburan to Serian section of the Pan Borneo Highway.
The 1.30pm accident on Sept 12 saw half of the highway closed to traffic, as Sarawak fire and rescue personnel sprayed foam to contain the fuel leakage. No fatality was reported but it caused a massive traffic congestion on that day.
In another case, a woman driver and her female passenger died when the four-wheel drive vehicle they were travelling in collided head on with a cargo truck.
Three other passengers in the 4WD were injured in the noon accident on Friday, November 9, near Limbang town in northern Sarawak.
According to the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department the woman driver was a Sarawakian, while the other four were tourists from Europe. The collision left the front part of the 4WD almost totally wrecked.
