Call for effective road safety action plan

KEY agencies in Asean were urged to implement effective road safety action plans to prevent more people from becoming victim of road accidents.

The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Communication made the call during the opening of the 15th Asean Land Transport Working Group Meeting (LTGW) and Asean-Asean Development Bank (ADB) Road Safety Workshop, yesterday.

"Unless serious concerted action is taken at every level, more people are likely to be victims of road accident which will cost billions of dollars in property damage, medical costs and lost productivity," said Hj Alaihuddin Pehin Orang Kaya Digadong Seri Lela Dato Seri Utama Hj Mohd Taha.

He said that the meeting was very timely as there has been an increasing number of road accidents in most Asean member countries. "Motorcyclists, in particular, have dominated traffic and casualty statistics in many Asean countries which comprise about 60-70 per cent of road accidents," he noted.

The permanent secretary also called for Asean to be committed in achieving a cleaner and more sustainable transport system.

"The global economic downturn in addition to the recent spread of communicable diseases has severely affected the transportation industry by limiting our means of travel to certain destinations," he said.

However he remains optimistic by stating that as long as member countries continue to share common goals in providing passengers with safe and efficient transportation systems, the region will presevere.

"I cannot stress enough the importance of safety and how it should never be compromised whatever the circumstances," he added.

He recalled that the 14th Asean Transport Ministerial meeting held last year in the Philippines, highlighted that the rapid urbanisation and motorisation in Asean has placed a heavy strain on the health, mobility and safety of the population.

"It further reaffirmed the importance of sustainable transport programmes to improve road safety, as well as to increase energy efficiency by reducing fuel consumption and emissions in the transport sector," he said.

Hj Alaihuddin expressed his appreciation to ADB for their close collaboration with Asean to achieve a regional strategy in the promotion of road safety. He said it would help to increase awareness, develop better understanding and strengthen coordination among key agencies in respective countries.

The two-day workshop is attended by some 50 Asean members including Japan. (SHS1) The Brunei Times