Source: PDRM Road Accident Statistics Report, Motorcyclists vs Other Road Users
In Malaysia, vehicle accidents ranked fifth
in the ten principal causes of death for 2014 as
reported by Department of Statistics (Perangkaan
Sebab Kematian, Malaysia, 2014). Over the past
few decades, the number of people dying from
road traffic injuries has increased by approximately
20%. In terms of exposure measure, the number
of registered vehicles has increased tremendously
in 20 years with more than a 200% increment
while the population in Malaysia maintains a
steady growth with an average of a 2% increment
yearly (Road Transport Department, Department
of Statistics).
Exposure and indices play an important role
in measuring the road safety status of a nation.
The fatality index (per 10,000 vehicles) for the
year 2015 was 2.55 (Malaysian Institute of
Road Safety Research, MIROS). It means that
there were three deaths per 10,000 vehicles in
Malaysia. On the other hand, the the fatality index
per hundred thousand population for 2015 was
21.5 which means that there were 22 deaths per
100,000 population in Malaysia. The total number
of people who died on the road in 2015 was 6,706
people. On average, 18 people died on the road
daily.
In 2015, 489,606 road accidents were
recorded while there were only 162,491 of such
cases in 1995 (Polis Diraja Malaysia, PDRM
Statistics Report). The increment is more than
200% and it is in line with the increase of vehicles
registered. Looking into detailed figures, accidents
were consistently slightly higher in the third
quarter of the year. The Raya celebration period
fell in the third quarter from 2011 until 2015.
During this celebration, people made more trips
to travel back to their hometowns, visit relatives or
attend open-houses. Similarly, the number of road
deaths was also significantly higher in the third
quarter of the year. On average, there were more
than 600 deaths per month in the third quarter
period compared to the other months. This trend
has continued since 2009.
In 2015, a total of 894,274 vehicles were
involved in road accidents (PDRM Statistics
Report). 70% out of the total were cars while
only 14% of the total vehicles involved in road
accidents were motorcycles. Even though the
number of motorcycles involved in road accidents
was fewer than cars, due to their vulnerability
on the road, motorcyclists suffered more severe
injuries compared to drivers of other vehicles.
Generally during the accidents, motorcyclists
suffered head injuries which led to death or brain
injury. Statistics in 2015 showed that more than
half of the motorcyclists’ deaths were due to head
injuries.
More than half of the people who die on
the road every year are motorcyclists. A 150%
increase in fatalities was recorded, compared
to 1985. Based on the historical crash data, the
number of motorcyclists who died on the road
77