CYBERJAYA – An average of one child died every day in road accidents between 2011 and 2020, said Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah.
He said the statistics for the ten-year period was received from the Royal Malaysia Police and analysed by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), which found that 7.25 per cent 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 (PKJR)’, a module on road safety education.
PKJR 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.
The module teaches children about road safety in stages, which include 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 PKJR Carnival here today.
The carnival was held in conjunction with the 2023 Asean Road Safety Week being held here from Sept 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
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