ACCIDENTS and deaths caused by vehicles going over potholes are not something new in this country.
Such cases have been highlighted repeatedly over the years, but the public’s many complaints always seem to fall on deaf ears, with repairs taking weeks, even months if not years, in some cases.
It took just one VIP falling at an uneven road to not only get an effusive apology from the district’s Public Works Department (JKR) but also a pledge to fix the pothole, which was duly done in record time.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin sustained facial injuries when he fell off his bicycle after riding over a depression in a road in Banting, Selangor, on Dec 27. When the Kuala Langat district JKR apologised and repaired the road in less than 24 hours following his tweet, Malaysians took to social media to sarcastically call for ministers to cycle in their districts so that their roads could be repaired as efficiently too.
6 January 2021 7:25 pm / 31 comments
Recent road fatalities involving motorcyclists riding into potholes have again brought to the forefront the pressing need to address the long-standing issue that has needlessly claimed lives.
Statistics highlight the increasing trend. A paper published in 2017 revealed that from 2000 to 2011, a total of 840 people died in road accidents resulting from pothole-related mishaps, with the number of deaths climbing to almost 100 alone in 2011.
The total represented 11.2% of the 7,486 traffic accident deaths that were attributed to road defects during the period, and placed potholes as the third major cause of fatalities within the category.
While total deaths due to accidents caused by road defects account for just 11.25% of the more than 65,000 road traffic deaths recorded during the 12-year period, they still represent a significant loss of life, and in the case of potholes, likely preventable if action to correct them was taken quickly. And
Works ministry reiterates 24hr pothole repair promise
The works ministry, through the public works department will conduct pothole repairs through the
Aku Janji Zero Potholes (“I Promise Zero Potholes”) campaign that was reintroduced last July,
The works ministry said in a statement that the previous
Aku Janji Zero Potholes campaign that ran from 2016 to 2018 aimed to strengthen the ministry’s commitment towards the maintenance of roads in the country.
“Under this campaign, pothole repairs will be done within 24 hours of its discovery or complaints and in three days for permanent repairs as stated in the Federal Road Maintenance contract,” said the statement, which defined pothole damage as holes with diameters ranging from 200 mm to 1,000 mm.