Putatan road safety campaign

PUTATAN: The Road Safety Awareness Campaign can enhance public awareness to help reduce statistics of road accidents in Sabah.

Deputy Chief Minister III cum Minister of Public Works, Datuk Ir Shahelmey Yahya, said organising such campaign is essential so road users including motorists are reminded to adhere to road safety aspects.

“This is a programme that is implemented every year, especially during the festive seasons.

“The aim is to increase public awareness on road safety and remind them to always be aware of the safety of other road users,” he said.

Shahelmey said this after launching the Road Safety Awareness Campaign in conjunction with the 2023 Chinese New Year Celebration in Teluk Dumpil near here, last Thursday.

The Road Safety Awareness Campaign is a programme carried out by the Sabah Ministry of Public Works through the Road Safety Council in collaboration with several departments and agencies such as the police, Road Transport Department (JPJ), Fire Department, Health Department, Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) and local authorities.

This year, he said, the first Road Safety Awareness Campaign was conducted in the district in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration and will be conducted in other districts in the future.

In other developments, he said statistics showed a total of 1,634 cases of road accidents including 20 cases of fatal accidents recorded in January, this year, which needed to be addressed seriously.

Therefore, Shahelmey said road users including motorists and motorcyclists should behave ethically when on the road and to ensure their vehicles are in good condition.

“In addition to safety campaigns like this, another approach is to continuously create awareness campaigns, and use law enforcement against road users who continue to be careless or take lightly the aspects of road safety,” he said.

He added that his Ministry will collaborate with various relevant departments to ensure that the level of safety on the road is always improved.

In the event, a total of 100 bags containing campaign materials and Road Safety Campaign pamphlets were distributed including giving new helmets and safety vests to motorcyclists.

Also present were Shahelemey’s assistant ministers namely Datuk Limus Jury and Datuk Robert Tawik as well as other senior officials.

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