Our Make Roads Safe global ambassador has come home to Malaysia after a hectic week in the US. She is here to help launch the results of the Malaysia survey of the International Road Assessment Programme, which estimates that 30% of deaths and serious injuries could be prevented over 20 years if proposed road design improvements improvements are implemented.
The launch was well supported by the Malaysian transport minister and the deputy works minister and, although there are the usual political and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome, there seems to be real hope for a government investment in these recommendations.
Later we toured some of the roads near Kuala Lumpur which could benefit from improvements. IRAP's Asia director, Rob McInerney, pointed out the open ditches, lethal telegraph poles and dangerous junctions that are contributing to Malaysia's death toll of 6000 a year. We also visited the separate motorcycle lanes alongside dual carriageways that have helped to reduce motorcycle deaths along these stretches of road by up to 80%.
