Road Fatalities Reach 42 This Year.

Bandar Seri Begawan - Another young life has been claimed following a tragic accident that took place yesterday at approximately 2.24am, which also resulted in another person sustaining injuries that warranted treatment at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital in the capital.

According to the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), the victim of the early morning incident was the 20-year-old male driver of the vehicle who succumbed to multiple injuries, including bleeding from the ears and nose as well as injuries to his chest whilst the other individual was the vehicle's passenger who is still being cared for at the hospital.

The occupants of the car were making their way to the Bandar Seri Begawan/Gadong area via the Rimba Highway when their car veered off the road and hit a tree on the left-hand side of the lane during heavy rain, which had created slippery road conditions and pools of water on the motorway.

The loss of the young man's life brings the nation's road deaths to 42 for the year 2011 thus far - the fifth casualty since October 2011, which has become a major cause of concern for the authorities - in the wake of another accident less than two weeks ago on December 9, 2011 that saw the death of an 18-year-old youth along the Hassanal Bolkiah Highway.

Though human-error such as using mobile phones, failure to wear safety belts, jumping red lights, making illegal U-turns and speeding have been known as some of the many causes of road accidents and also some of the issues faced by the Police when dealing with road lawbreakers. The RBPF also highlighted that the main cause of accidents includes the country's unpredictable weather patterns that brings with it heavy rain.

"Bad weather, particularly heavy rain, can cause obstructed views and lack of clarity and this can worsen when driving at night," pointed the police in a press statement. "Furthermore, effects of heavy rain can also cause slippery roads and contribute. to a number of collected water on the roads surface that is difficult to assess.

"Factors such as these can cause unstable driving and the vehicle driven to skid or veer from the road, especially within the vicinity of areas that are dangerous such as bends and the like."

An earlier report had stated that between January and October .this year, of the 37 road fatalities, nearly

50 per cent of fatal road accidents had involved youths between the ages of 18 and 28. The year 2011 has seen the second highest number of road casualties following the deaths of 54 individuals in 2007.

Over the past four years since 2007, explained the Royal Brunei Police Force, statistics compiled by the Department of Investigation and Traffic Control has revealed the glaring increase of road accidents from 2,674 cases to a peak of 3,414 cases in 2010 and a recorded number of 3,321 cases from January until December 2011.

During the same period of time, the number of road fatalities and of those sustaining minor to serious injuries from accidents have been fluctuating with the year 2007 witnessing 74 serious injuries and 54 deaths; 57 serious injuries and 29 deaths in 2008; 72 serious injuries and 28 deaths in 2009; and 74 serious injuries and 26 deaths in 2010.

Minor injuries, meanwhile, totalled to 482, 458, 536, 624 and 590 for each respective year.


--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Al-fatihah to the victim. He shall be missed dearly by friends and family.