KUCHING: Sarawak recorded a slight overall drop in road accidents this year, although fatal crashes showed an increase compared to last year’s figure.
The State Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK) have recorded a total of 19,768 road accidents between January and November this year, down by 195 cases or one per cent from 19,963 cases in the corresponding period in 2024.
However, fatal accidents rose by 5.8 per cent, with 348 deaths recorded this year compared to 329 last year, an increase of 19 cases.
Serious injury cases declined by 8.9 per cent from 135 to 123 cases, while minor injury accidents dropped by 8.6 per cent from 243 to 222 cases.
Accidents involving vehicle damage only also saw a marginal reduction of 0.9 per cent, from 19,256 cases last year to 19,075 cases this year.
Sarawak Deputy Police Commissioner DCP Saifullizan Ishak said negligence and carelessness by drivers remained the main contributor to road accidents, accounting for 80 per cent of cases recorded this year.
“Rear-end collisions contributed 30 per cent of these accidents, followed by speeding and loss of control at 18 per cent, and side collisions when entering or exiting junctions at 16 per cent.
“Head-on collisions accounted for four per cent of cases, side-swipes (four per cent), collisions with roadside objects (three per cent), reversing manoeuvres (three per cent), while other causes made up the remaining two per cent,” he said when met at Farley Shopping Mall yesterday (Dec 22).
Saifullizan officiated the Road Safety Advocacy Campaign in conjunction with Christmas, organised by Sarawak Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department with Sarawak Social Security Organisation (SOCSO), by giving out road safety stickers and free helmets to motorcyclists and distributing goodie bags to the public on road safety laws to adhere to.
Aside from that, he stated that the increasing number of vehicles on the road was the second-largest contributing factor, accounting for 15 per cent of accidents.
Weather and road conditions as well as terrain factors contributed five per cent of the accidents.
“These show that human error continues to be the dominant factor, and all road users must practise discipline, patience and responsibility,” he said.
