Drink driving (and driving under the influence of drugs) seems to be the lowest cause of fatal crashes in the past 10 years in Malaysia. Yeah, we didn’t believe it at first either.
Only 69 fatal accidents due to drunk driving?
Between July 2011 and 2021, a PDRM statistical report shows that only 69 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs have been categorised as the cause of fatal accidents in Malaysia.
Of course, any life needlessly lost is a tragedy but that figure is apparently the lowest cause of death out of the thousands of road fatalities reported over the past decade.
Single vehicle crashes - 19,570 deaths
At the other end of the spectrum, ‘single vehicle’ crashes topped the list of the highest contributor to fatal accidents, which is characterised by the involvement of just one car, lorry, or motorcycle. Over the same period, it was attributed to 19,570 deaths.
Other causes of fatal accidents in Malaysia?
In the runner-up position, the report shows negligent driving while exiting or coming into a junction as the second-highest cause with 6,590 deaths. It’s also worth noting that a total of 1,990 reported roadside casualties were the result of pedestrian negligence.
Other causes of fatalities include accidents as a result:
- overtaking (6,560),
- collisions due to not noticing a head-on obstruction (6,336),
- accidents while making a U-turn (2,570),
- driving against the flow of traffic (1,731),
- beating or attempting to beat a traffic light (1,398),
- falling asleep at the wheel (1,305).
This is a pretty fascinating statistic. However, does it speak to successful enforcement that has managed to curb incidents of driving under the influence? Or might this imply that driving while intoxicated (albeit lightly) is less of an inhibiting factor than previously thought since Malaysians are apparently more dangerous on the roads while sober.