KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — A new study has revealed that fatal road accidents involving heavy vehicles like lorries and trailers have claimed at least 1,457 lives over the past six years, with highways emerging as the deadliest routes.
At least one life is lost every 36 hours due to fatal accidents involving lorries or trailers.
Harian Metro (HM) reported that the study by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) found that lorry accidents on highways are more likely to result in fatalities compared to other roads such as Federal roads, state roads, and municipal roads.
Factors such as high speed and overloaded lorries contribute to a higher risk of fatality, especially when accidents occur on bends.
Road safety activist Datuk Mohamad Hisham Shafe said the 1,457 deaths were linked to 3,500 lorry accidents nationwide over the six-year period.
The average frequency was one lorry accident every 2,164 minutes — or roughly every one day and 12 hours.
He noted that accidents involving heavy vehicles carry a higher fatality risk due to their size and collision impact. He also highlighted 473 serious injuries and 1,076 minor injuries linked to such crashes.