MELAKA: A total of 48 road fatalities were recorded from January to March this year, an increase of 50% compared with 32 cases reported in the same period last year.

       State Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) head Supt Amran @ Mohamad Zaki Omar said the number was seen as worrying, and police would intensify awareness and road safety campaigns for motorists through “Ops Selamat 18” in conjunction with the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

       "Through the campaign, we will provide advice and guidance to motorists so that they can practise prudent driving when returning to their hometowns for the Aidilfitri holiday, thus reducing the risk,” he said.

       He said this to reporters after attending the Ops Selamat 18 Tour and the Go to Safety Point (GTSP) programmes in Semabok here.

       These programmes, under JSPT and in collaboration with Petronas for the southern zone, will make stops at selected stations, starting in Johor before moving to Melaka and ending in Negri Sembilan, to remind the community and advise motorists to abide by traffic rules.

       Supt Amran said that during the upcoming Aidilfitri holiday, Melaka police will place officers and personnel in each district to carry out traffic dispersal in the event of traffic congestion.

       "Apart from that, we also have four 'jammed squad' teams, consisting of one officer and four personnel, who will be mobilised to a location in the event that they receive any complaints posted on various media.

       "We do not have hotspots, but the JSPT will conduct monitoring on the main roads in the state, including along Lebuh Alor Gajah-Melaka-Jasin (AMJ) and Lebuh Sungai Udang-Paya Rumput-Alor Gajah (SPA), as accidents often occurred in these locations,” he said.

       He said police also expected more than 100,000 vehicles to enter Melaka in conjunction with the Aidilfitri holiday but there were no plans to mount roadblocks at entry points to avoid severe congestion unless it involved a criminal case. - Bernama