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Road safety institute proposes 30kph speed limit in cities, villages

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A standard speed limit is being mulled as part of the new national road safety plan.

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PETALING JAYA:
A standard 30kph speed limit is being proposed for urban and residential areas, cities and villages as part of the national road safety plan for 2021-2030.

Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) director-general Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim said the institute will engage stakeholders that include the Public Works Department, Road Transport Department, local councils, police and other relevant authorities.

The speed limit will allow people to mix safely with road traffic, Khairil said, and enable the community to build a safe, healthy, green and liveable place.

A paper on the proposed speed limit will be presented to the Miros board of directors.

“From there, we will finalise the road safety plan with various road safety experts and stakeholders and bring it up to the transport ministry,” Khairil told FMT.

Malaysia is one of the countries that mandated 18 resolutions on road safety at a global ministerial conference in February last year.

The 80 ministers made a pledge to halve the number of road deaths by 2030, he said, and proposed the speed limit of 30kph as “the new norm” in areas where motorcycles, cars, pedestrians and cyclists mix.

Last week, World Health Organisation director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for governments around the world to urgently adopt the 30kph speed limit in cities.

“We need a new vision to create safe, healthy, green and liveable cities,” said Ghebreyesus. “Low-speed streets are an important part of that vision. As we recover and rebuild from Covid-19, let’s make safer roads for a safer world.”

WHO said mobility and road traffic volume decreased overall because of Covid-19 lockdowns and more people working from home. However, fatality statistics have not decreased by the same relative amount because road users ride and drive at higher speeds.

Child Health Initiative global ambassador Zoleka Mandela said anything above 30kph is a death sentence.

“Today and every day, 3,000 children are killed or injured on the world’s roads. This is a crisis that is man-made and is entirely preventable,” she said.

Zoleka is the granddaughter of Nelson Mandela. She lost her 13-year-old daughter Zenani in a road crash in Soweto after returning from a pre-tournament concert during the World Cup in South Africa 11 years ago.

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