Approximately 1.35 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,700 people lose their lives every day on the roads. Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and to nations as a whole. Based on value of statistical life’ (VSOL) year of 2018 by MIROS, the Malaysian government has lost at least 3.12 million for each life. With an average of 18 persons killed in road accidents every day in Malaysia, road accidents constitute a serious public health challenge to the nation. It also underlines the urgent need for an effective policy response. Currently, Malaysia Road Safety Plan 2014-2020 that has set the target of reducing 50% road accident fatalities from projected 10,716 fatalities in 2020 to 5,358 fatalities towards achieving the objectives of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 with the goal to stabilize and reduce the forecast level of road accident fatalities by 50% by 2020.

Figure 1: Malaysia Road Fatalities Index 2010 - 2019

Figure 2: Road Fatalities​ by Mode 2010 - 2019

With regards to fatalities by road users and by road types, Malaysia has shown a steady decrease since 2010. The highest road fatalities (59 percent) are coming from motorcyclists, while 21 percent of fatalities are attributed to passenger cars among various road users (Figure 2). ​​​