There were 29 deaths resulting from these accidents, while 17 people suffered serious injuries and 49 escaped with light injuries.

According to Wee such accidents were primarily due to human factors, such as driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, speeding or a lack of focus while on the road.

“Off late most of these incidents involve drunk drivers or those high on drugs and this is worrying,” he told the Dewan Rakyat this morning.

Wee said this in response to a question from Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh (PH-Ledang) who wanted to know the number of accidents involving those who drove against the flow of traffic.

To a supplementary question by Mohd Nizar Zakaria (BN-Parit), Wee explained there were two types of scenarios in which drivers went against traffic.

In cases where it was a dual carriageway and there were dividers on the road, those who drove against the traffic flow were likely under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

While on single carriageways, where there were no dividers, drivers were most likely overtaking when the accident occurred.

On a separate matter, Wee said there were no plans to revoke the driving license of those aged 70 and above, adding in some cases, senior citizens were better drivers.

“Langkawi, is a far better driver than some of the crazy drivers on the road,” he said, referring to former prime minister and Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We have no intention of revoking the license of those above 70.”

A few days ago, Bukit Aman traffic police chief Azisman Alias called for driving licences issued to senior citizens to be restricted in order to reduce the number of accidents on the road.

Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani then clarified that it was Azisman’s personal opinion, while Wee said any such rule would be “discriminatory”.

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