AN AVERAGE of one child per day died in road accidents between 2011 and 2020, Deputy Transport Minister Hasbi Habibollah said.

Hasbi said the statistics for the ten-year period was received from the police and analysed by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), which found that 7.25% of fatalities involved children between 0 and 15 years.  

Based on this fact, he said the Transport Ministry has taken several initiatives to reduce accidents, injuries and fatalities on roads with regard to children, through advocacy programmes and research as well as the “Pendidikan Keselamatan Jalan Raya”, a module on road safety education.

The module has been taught in Malay in all primary and secondary schools and since 2021 it has been extended to kindergarten and pre-schools as well. 

It teaches children about road safety in stages, which includes recognising traffic signal signs, road infrastructure, and introduction to the types of vehicles that can help them become considerate and alert road users.

“Our children must be educated and moulded from young on the importance of road safety, so it becomes their culture,” said Hasbi while launching the carnival in Cyberjaya today. 

The carnival was held in conjunction with the 2023 Asean Road Safety Week being held in Cyberjaya from September 11 to 15.

Themed “Safe mobility for all”, it advocates road safety strategy for all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians. – Bernama, September 13, 2023.