KUCHING: The Kuching South City Council (MBKS) will work closely with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to identify and eliminate accident black spots.
Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng said the safety of the people is its priority and that the city council will take the lead in ensuring that citizens are constantly safeguarded.
Nevertheless, he reminded the people that safety is not just the duty of the city council alone.
“It is equally necessary for the citizens to share the duty of ensuring the safety of the community, by complying with traffic rules and regulations.
“The council may instal safety equipment, implement safety policies or conduct awareness campaigns, but at the end of the day, it is still necessary for the general public to also adhere to these policies, to not break traffic rules, not drive recklessly, not run the redlights, and not break the speed limit, to not drink and drive.
“Otherwise, all of the council’s efforts will be in vain. There are traffic rules for a purpose, and that reason is to safeguard the safety of road users,” Wee told reporters today (Dec 30) during the unveiling of two new radar speed advisory signs along Jalan Stutong, a notorious accident black zone.
He urged the public to shoulder the responsibility of public safety and work with the council to better protect the community.
MBKS recently installed two new radar speed advisory signs near Lorong Stutong A and Lorong Stutong 14 (along Kuching Specialist Hospital road) to encourage drivers to drive slowly.
According to Wee, the fact that the two openings follow a blind corner on the main road make it much more risky for turning vehicles, as the main road vehicles may only see the turning vehicles after clearing the blind curve.
Apart from providing a safety risk, the unregulated speed on the main road makes it extremely difficult for individuals to make the right turn, because since the vehicles on the main road are travelling at varying speeds, the vehicles taking the right turn will have a difficult time determining the best opportunity to make the right turn.
Wee said the idea is to provide drivers with an additional reminder of their speed, with the goal of minimising the possibility that drivers fail to realise they are speeding, as 60kmph is not very fast and can be easily reached even with a low-powered vehicle.
“It is intended to reduce the number and severity of occurrences at these locations.
“Furthermore, it is hoped that the decreased average speed of vehicles on the main road will make it easier to make the right turn into Lorong Stutong A and Lorong Stutong 14, enhancing both the safety and convenience of local residents.”
