A mandatory speed limit of 30 km/h may soon be imposed on 10 more roads in Kuala Lumpur city, as proposed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), The Star reported.
Though the exact locations for the 30 km/h speed limit have yet to be identified, Miros hopes that the 10 roads will be in highly pedestrianised areas, said Miros chairman Wong Shaw Voon.
The choice of locations proposed for the 30 km/h speed limit is based on accident records vulnerable road users, as well as those with a high number of complaints received from the community, according to the report. Speed management intervention measures by the authorities would also include road humps, roundabouts and transverse bars, with the aim of slowing traffic in these areas, Wong said.
Feasibility studies are expected to be completed by the end of the year, The Star reported. “DBKL has already imposed a 30 km/h speed limit in some school zones. Under the new proposal, several roads with a current speed limit of 40 km/h will be reduced to 30 km/h, while roads with a 60 km/h speed limit will be reduced to 50 km/h,” Wong added.
Lowering speed limits could also reduced the probability of death or serious injury in the event of road incidents, the Miros chairman said. “People are constantly in a rush to get somewhere. If they could just slow down, we can prevent accidents,” he said, adding that speed management can help reduce the number of accidents by adopting the safe system approach of incorporating engineering, education and enforcement.
Last year, Miros proposed a 30 km/h speed limit for built-up areas such as urban and residential areas, and the ministry of federal territories (KWP) was reported in February to be studying the proposal, which was subsequently to be presented to DBKL.
According to police data cited by The Star, national statistics found that Kuala Lumpur contributed 30% of road deaths nationwide, and speed-related crashes accounted for 30% of the fatalities, while serious injuries accounted for 31%. Speed-related crashes included incidents where the vehicles went out of control, overturned or collided with roadside objects, according to the report.
Meanwhile, transportation planning expert Goh Bok Yen said that road safety should be viewed from a broader perspective, and not just through reductions in speed limits, The Star wrote.
“It is timely for DBKL to transform city roads and make them user-friendly to non-motorised vehicles such as bicycles and [other] pedestrians. Achieving a more balanced redistribution of road space between vehicles and pedestrians in the central business district is crucial,” Goh said.
New road design guidelines for lower speeds must come with wider and safer walkways for non-motorised road users, and there needs to be a shift from traditional car-centric road design and operation to one that accommodates different kinds of road users, he said.
Arterial roads – such as Jalan Kuching, Jalan Cheras and Jalan Tun Razak – would remain motor vehicle-centric, others such as Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, Jalan Petaling and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman should prioritise non-motorised vehicles and pedestrians by having wider walkways, he suggested, adding that vehicle speeds could be reduced by narrowing the lane widths for motor vehicles to lower their speeds.
The next steps could be to restrict certain categories of vehicles such as trailers in the central business district, restrict motorcycles to dedicated lanes on arterial roads and to have roads that permit only public transport vehicles, the latter using London as an example cited by Goh.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
nothing better to do ah, solve the rempit terrorists first la
Don’t think many will be driving at 30kmh…
Car 30km/h…
Bike 60km/h…
How to tangkap the rempit?
Car is easy tangkap with hidden cameras, becareful.
How many accidents involve pedestrian in KL? I can tell it is very minimum. Most of the time the run a red light is motorcycle not car. And the death accident involve mostly rider or people inside vehicle rather than pedestrian. You guys are just nothing to do and make something to show to public the existence of Miros. It is more important to guide motorists do not break the traffic rules. This itself will save thousands of life every year.
In Malaysia, most car driver deem pedestrian and cyclist either as enemy or invisible.
One study (Google Höskuldur Kröyer) found the mean speed of minor, severe and fatal injuries to be 36.6kmh, 40.5kmh and 48.9kmh.
Just slow right down in built up/school areas and make it home to your family without injuring/killing somebody. I mean even a minor accident will be costly and time consuming.
It’s not about entirely reducing the speed limit, it’s the mentality of the drivers. You can see that most motorcyclist do Not stop at junctions and especially those food riders. You can just put a study by putting people at junctions and at traffic lights and observe. There is no sense of redicing speed if the mind is not sound.
Even if the authority installs 30kph signboards every 50 meters, road studs, consecutive speed breakers/bumps every 10 meters, rumble strips, and whatever else, if motorists decide to drive 60kph in 30kph zone, nothing can stop them.
Biarlah kereta/motor melambung pun, apa kisah.
Inversely, places where you can legally drive faster, like highways at 110kph, oddly motorists won’t even do 110, but 90 and insist for right lane.
Just ask cars to stop the engine and push. Why implementing 30km/h. Badul punye negara.
It’s about the authorities to make more money to cover their looting of public funds
Good initiative. Majority of us have become complacent and thought that speeding is our right. Habit of speeding, especially at car park and residential areas has to end.