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THE number of fatal accidents involving heavy vehicles in Malaysia showed an encouraging downward trend last year, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He told the Dewan Rakyat that preliminary data from the Royal Malaysia Police showed 232 fatal accidents involving heavy vehicles were recorded in 2023, rising to 260 cases in 2024 before falling sharply to 163 cases last year.
“The statistics cover fatal accidents involving lorries, trailers and other heavy goods vehicles, regardless of whether the vehicle was the primary cause or merely involved in the accident,” he said during the oral question-and-answer session in Parliament on Wednesday.
Loke said the decline provided early indications that stricter enforcement of heavy vehicle safety compliance, including load control, had contributed to reducing the risk of fatal accidents on the roads.
“This reduction gives an initial picture that enhanced enforcement measures on heavy vehicle safety compliance, including load control, are contributing to a lower risk of fatal road accidents, in line with the government’s objective of protecting the lives of road users,” he said.
He was responding to a question from Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) on the number of heavy vehicles penalised for overloading during a special enforcement operation carried out by the Road Transport Department in the fourth quarter of last year.
Elaborating further, Loke said a total of 3,604 heavy vehicles were detected and taken action against for exceeding permitted load limits during the JPJ’s special operation in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Of that total, he said 1,731 vehicles were in the category of loads of 7.5 tonnes and below, 1,193 vehicles carried loads between 7.5 tonnes and 32 tonnes, while 680 vehicles were found to be carrying loads exceeding 32 tonnes.
“These data show that a large proportion of cases involve serious levels of overloading, which have the potential to compromise road safety, vehicle stability, braking performance and the durability of road infrastructure,” he said.
Loke added that the ministry would continue to work closely with enforcement agencies to strengthen monitoring and compliance, particularly among operators of heavy goods vehicles, as part of broader efforts to improve road safety nationwide. - January 21, 2026