IPOH: Perak recorded 1,204 road accidents in the first 11 days of Ramadan, a 16% increase from the corresponding period last year.

       State Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) chief Supt Azizan Hassan said 1,039 cases were reported last year.

       The increase was probably because there were no more restrictions on movement like before, he said, Bernama reported.

       “Of the total, 18 were fatal accidents, 13 resulted in severe injuries, 44 involved minor injuries while the remaining 1,129 cases did not involve injuries,” he said when appearing as a guest on Perak FM’s Exclusif@PERAKfm slot to speak about the “Pandu Cermat, Jiwa Selamat” campaign.

       When asked what steps were being taken to ensure there was no unusual congestion during rush hour – especially when nearing the time to break fast – he said his men have been conducting regular patrols and on standby to provide traffic control assistance since the first day of Ramadan.

       “As a proactive measure, JSPT has also assigned a traffic policeman to every Ramadan bazaar to monitor and control the crowd and to ensure vehicle owners park properly to prevent disruption of traffic flow,” Supt Azizan added.