20 accident-prone spots in Sabah identified
KOTA KINABALU: The police have identified 20 accident-prone hotspots in Sabah for Ops Selamat 06/2015 in conjunction with Chinese New Year, including three each in Kota Kinabalu and Labuan, four in Beluran and one to two in other districts in the State.
Ops Selamat will run for two weeks from February 12 to 26 simultaneously nationwide.
Sabah police commissioner Datuk Jalaludin Abdul Rahman said the three main causes of road accidents were the driver’s attitude, road condition and vehicle performance.
“Irresponsible and reckless driving are the main causes of road accidents, while other factors include violating road signs, speeding, running red lights, overtaking at double lines and failing to signal when making a turn,” Jalaludin said when officiating at the launching of Ops Selamat here yesterday.
He said the traffic police would step up enforcement with the Road Transport Department, the Road Safety Department, Fire and Rescue Department, Red Crescent and Civil Defence Department.
Jalaludin said the enforcement activities would be targeted at motorcyclists who violate road regulations, as well as motorists who speed, drive under the inf luence of alcohol, abuse emergency lanes, jump queue, run red lights, fail to fasten seat belts and overload their vehicles with passengers.
He added the police would take stern action against traffic offenders, including issuing them summonses on the spot.
He also urged the public to inform their neighbours before returning to their hometowns for Chinese New Year, as well as fill in the forms provided by the police and submit to their nearest police station so that the police could patrol their vacant homes during the festive season.
The forms can be downloaded from the Royal Malaysian Police website.
Jalaudin also disclosed that 645 road accidents and 15 fatalities were reported during Ops Selamat in Sabah last year.
The figure was a slight decrease from 647 road accidents recorded during the same period the previous year, but an increase of two fatalities from 13 deaths in 2013.
In Malaysia, a total of 16,534 road accidents were reported last year during the same period, causing 371 deaths.
In 2013, there were 16,746 accidents with 394 fatalities, Jalaludin said, while urging motorists to be cautious on the road.
Jalaludin also called on the public to remain alert for house-breaking thieves during the festive season, and to be extra cautious when withdrawing money from the banks.
He also urged police officers and personnel to step up their patrol during the festive season to prevent criminal activities.
Meanwhile, Jalaludin said the police had detained two suspects and seized a knife that was believed to be used to stab a contractor from West Malaysia recently.
Jalaludin said the police had also set up a special task force to investigate an international syndicate involved in stolen vehicle cases via the operation centres in each district.