| Azlan Othman |
A TOTAL of 26 road accident fatalities were recorded in Brunei in 2010, with the number increasing to 29 in 2017. Of this 2017 figure, 19 of the dead were youth aged between 19 and 38.
These alarming statistics were revealed yesterday by Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Royal Patron of the Brunei National Road Safety Council (BNRSC) at the launch of Road Safety Week to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2018 at The Empire Hotel & Country Club.
Expressing concern on the large proportion of road deaths involving youth, Her Royal Highness said, “Because of this alarming reality, all of us, including the government and private agencies, educational institutions, and more importantly road users, are equally responsible in reducing road accidents in the country.
“To this end, the BNRSC has mobilised resources and implemented more focussed initiatives to address this problem, through action groups involving the government and private agencies. I have been told too that special road safety information dissemination sessions will be organised for the youth, seeing that we welcome nearly 7,000 new drivers every year onto our roads, most of them youth,” Her Royal Highness added.
The United Nations (UN) initiated the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 in March 2010 in a bid to reduce road accidents by 50 per cent by 2020.
According to reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015, road accidents kill 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and are also the leading cause of death among young people.
The findings also indicate that the global road accident mortality rate has been horizontal in the past several years since the UN’s global road safety action plans were launched.
Her Royal Highness added that in support of the UN initiative, Brunei Darussalam had launched the Blueprint Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020), an action plan which includes many initiatives implemented by the BNRSC with various parties, with one of its goal being to reduce the country’s traffic accident death rate by 35 per cent by 2020.
Her Royal Highness noted that according to investigations by the BNRSC and related agencies, most accidents that occurred in recent years involved victims who did not fasten their safety belts.
“They are passengers both sitting in the front of the car and at the back. Based on the findings of the 2016 research project by the Centre for Transport Research (CfTR), Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) on driver behaviour, out of a total of 600 drivers involved, only three per cent had their passengers in the back seat fasten their seatbelts, down from 11 per cent from the previous year,” Her Royal Highness said.
Her Royal Highness pointed out that according to WHO, wearing safety belts can reduce the risk of death from road accidents by up to 50 per cent for front passengers, and 75 per cent for rear passengers.
As of April this year, the UN has passed its ‘Improving Global Road Safety’ resolution as a follow up to its Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, which will soon come to an end.
“This shows that the road safety issue remains relevant and is a global priority,” Her Royal Highness said. “I understand there has been coordination at the regional and international level on the issue. Among these is the establishment of a special ASEAN research centre on road safety, which is set out under the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS).
“In addition ASEAN dialogue partners such as Japan and the EU are also actively involved in collaborative efforts to address this issue collectively. We must refer to best practices and to explore strategic opportunities in cooperation with them. I hope these efforts will contribute to reducing the risk of injury and loss of life due to road accidents. We are all responsible in making our roads safer.”
During yesterday’s ceremony, Her Royal Highness also presented the Road Safety Programme Contribution Award to Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd, Brunei Shell Marketing Company Sdn Bhd, the Brunei Insurance and Takaful Association (BITA), and the Brunei Darussalam Motorcycle Association (PEMODA), and toured an exhibition of various agencies involved in Road Safety Week.