KOTA KINABALU: Immediate measures must be taken by the authorities to ensure the safety of motorists, especially at U-turns and T-junctions along major roads, says Moyog assemblyman Datuk Darell Leiking.
He said it was high time for both the state and Federal Government to take another look at road designs and traffic flow in Sabah, in light of numerous accidents.
He said in Penampang, for example, many mishaps involving U-turns had occurred along Jalan Ramayah on the Jalan Penampang-Papar Lama route.
Leiking, who was commenting on Sunday’s (Oct 22) fatal accident in which a husband and wife were killed at a U-turn along Jalan Pintas in Penampang, said immediate safety measures were needed at such stretches.
“The Sabah government must enhance safety measures on our roads especially at U-turns, firstly by installing speed breakers (to reduce the speed of oncoming cars) as well as warning signs.
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“Secondly, by ensuring all streetlights within 500m of such U-turns are functioning all the time,” the Parti Warisan vice president said on Tuesday (Oct 24).
He said the state government must also identify all the roads in Sabah that require such measures for the safety of road users.
“The state can actually work together with the police, Public Works Department and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd for quick solutions. They must have the will to do it,” he added.
Without such measures, he said Sunday’s fatal accident would be far from the last.
He said it was important for a long-term solution to be considered, such as elevated U-turns, for the general safety of road users.
“In fact, with our government rushing to complete the Pan Borneo Highway, these safety measures will be needed more than ever.
“We are no longer living in the 1990s when roads are empty,” he added.
On Sunday, Peter John Lo, 69, and his wife Flovia Vinison, 63, died on the spot on the way home from a birthday party.
Their car was hit while making a U-turn by an oncoming four-wheel drive.
The driver of the other vehicle was also seriously injured.
