BRUNEI Darussalam recorded the lowest number of road accident deaths among Asean member countries, averaging 1.8 road accident deaths per 10,000 vehicles last year, according to the World Health Organisation’s ‘Global Status Report On Road Safety 2009′.

Malaysia, which had a total of 16.8 million registered vehicles in 2007, meanwhile, recorded the highest number of road accident deaths among Asean countries, averaging 3.7 road accident deaths per 10,000 vehicles in 2008.

This was followed by other Asean countries — Indonesia (2.6 road accident deaths per 10,000 vehicles), Singapore (2.5 road accident deaths) and the Philippines (2.1 road accident deaths).

A local enforcement official told the Bulletin that he could not comment on these figures because the WHO has its “own way” of making such data.

The 2009 Global Status Report On Road Safety, meanwhile, noted that these figures that there has been a “significant” drop in road fatalities in the Sultanate — the lowest in the past five years.

In Brunei, 29 fatalities were recorded from 23 car accidents last year — a 46 per cent drop compared to 2007 figures. Out of the 29 fatalities, 20 of them were males (five of whom did not wear seatbelts).

Out of the 29 fatalities, 19 were Bruneians while the rest were foreigners. The 18-24 age group constituted the highest number of victims with 12 fatalities, the report added.

The Royal Brunei Police Force’s Investigation Department and Traffic Control issued 3,716 more compounds (an increase of 26 per cent) in 2008 compared to the previous year, which recorded a total of 10,398 compounds.

Each year, approximately 1.3 million people die in road accidents around the world and between 20 and 50 million people sustain non-fatal injuries.

The findings of the report show that injuries sustained from road accidents remain an important public health problem, particularly among low-income and middle-income countries. The report highlighted that pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists make up almost half of those killed on the road.

In light of this, the report concluded that countries should make their road safety laws “more comprehensive”, whilst strengthening the enforcement of such laws. In other words, more action is needed to make the world’s roads safer.

The ‘Global Status Report On Road Safety 2009′ is the first broad assessment of road safety in 178 countries using data drawn from a standardised survey.

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