Op Selamat Records Over 100 Road-Related Fatalities Within Six Days of Commencement
Op Selamat, a government initiative towards protecting motorists over the long weekend, commenced on April 29 conjointly with Hari Raya Aidilfitri, as millions of cars were expected to be travelling across several states during the festive season.
Nearly 10,000 accidents across the country were confirmed to have occurred within the first six days.
According to Deputy Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain, a staggering total of 113 road-related fatalities were recorded following the Op Selamat as of Wednesday (May 4).
Razarudin added that on the first day alone, a total of 2,140 accidents involving 10 fatalities were recorded, whereas on Wednesday, 1,455 accidents involving 24 fatalities took place.
“With 72 deaths, motorcyclists and pillion riders were the most common, followed by 30 car motorists, six pedestrians, two involving a van driver and passenger, two deaths in a four-wheel drive, and one taxi passenger or driver,” he said yesterday.
He also mentioned that a majority of the accidents hailed from Selangor (2,160), followed by Johor (1,372), Perak (982), Kuala Lumpur (875), Penang (803), Kedah (659), Pahang (561), and Negeri Sembilan (507).
Other states lagged only slightly behind with 405 accidents across Melaka, followed by Kelantan (484), Sarawak (319), Sabah (311), Terengganu (303), and Perlis (303).
Nearly 4000 of the accidents occurred along urban roads, making it the common area for these tragic instances to unfold during that time.
Meanwhile, federal roads faced 2,148 cases, state roads 1,937, and highways 1,043.
Additionally, it was reported that drivers incurred almost 27,000 summonses following six major offences. Speeding itself made up for 25, 582 cases.
It was reported that more than 5000 vehicles had violated the speed limit on the first day of Op Selamat itself.