KOTA TINGGI, 10 Feb 2018:
A woman driving against traffic flow was killed when her Proton Wira car collided head-on with a Proton Persona sedan at KM34 of Jalan Johor Bahru-Mersing near here today.
Sim Lee Peng, 36, from Kampung Gembut in Kota Tinggi died at the scene due to serious bodily injuries.
Kota Tinggi district police chief Supt Ahsmon Bajah said the incident occurred at 8.45am when the victim was driving from Kota Tinggi towards Johor Bahru.
The driver of the other vehicle, identified as Fred Anak Edin, was severely injured and currently receiving treatment at the Kota Tinggi Hospital, he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.
Meanwhile in KUALA LUMPUR, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Ting Lai said the number of fatalities due to road accidents recorded last year showed a drop of 412 cases to 6,740 deaths – compared to 7,152 deaths in 2016.
He said the fatality index due to road accidents for every 10,000 registered vehicles was 2.34 in 2017, from 2.59 the previous year.
“I intent to reduce the death index due to road accident for every 10,000 registered vehicles to 2.0 this year,” he said when launching the national-level Road Safety Campaign and Integrated Ops in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration here today.
Liow said motorcycle still remained the main contributor to the number of fatalities in road accidents with 64.5% ( (4,348) of the number of motorists killed last year were motorcyclists.
Liow also said implementation of the Automated Awareness Safety System (AWAS) showed a huge success.
The system, which is an integration of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) and the Kejara demerit points system, recorded up to 95% compliance in speed limit since it was implemented, he said.
Liow said 5,600 personnel from the Road Safety Department, Road Transport Department (RTD) and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) in the “Ops Selamat” by the police and RTD’s “Ops Bersepadu” being held simultaneously since yesterday until Feb 23.
Ops Selamat focuses on advocacy and enforcement of the law, while Ops Bersepadu is implemented with the cooperation of the National Anti-Drug Agency.
Liow also said several other measures would be implemented during the Chinese New Year celebration, including prohibition on commercial vehicles on Feb 14, 15, 24 and 24.
Maintenance and construction work at highways, federal and state roads will be halted during the operation period.
– Bernama