Kuala Lumpur, October 29, 2019 – iRAP, in association with the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), announced the launch of a Malaysia Road Assessment Programme (MyRAP), in Kuala Lumpur today.

The MyRAP programme aims to address the highest risk roads around the country in partnership with national and state agencies. The programme will be hosted by MIROS in association with local experts, using local research and resources, supported by the global International Road Assessment Programme that includes partners in more than 100 countries.

iRAP Managing Director, Strategic Projects Greg Smith said over 6,000 lives are lost each year¹ due to road crashes in Malaysia and eliminating high risk roads is critical to injury reductions.

“Local leadership is the key to life-saving success in all of our partnerships across 100 countries worldwide and Malaysia is a fine example of this and a regional leader in improving the safety of its road network.

“Building on established success led by MIROS as an iRAP Centre of Excellence since 2012 and the PLUS and ANIH expressways Project, MyRAP will bring together government, investment, research and mobility and NGO partners from across the country to address the burden of road trauma,” Mr Smith said.

The success of local partnerships with the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, JKR, Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia, PLUS Berhad, ANIH Berhad, JKJR, and Shell were documented in the iRAP Malaysia 2017 Report publishing the Star Rating results of Malaysian Inter-urban expressways.

MIROS Director General Dr Siti Zaharah Ishak said we are excited to take iRAP Malaysia to the next level with the establishment of MyRAP.

“The launch of the preliminary iRAP Malaysia Programme in early 2016 marked a significant commitment by the Malaysian Government towards halving road fatalities by 2020, in line with one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“To date, local teams have undertaken star rating assessments on over 11,000 km of roads through Shell Malaysia supported projects. 95 per cent of our expressway network is expected to achieve a 3-star or better rating if road users comply with the speed limit. More than 500 sites have been upgraded informed by iRAP assessments, with many more sites targeted to be installed with speed enforcement cameras.

“MyRAP will continue to build on this success with goals to achieve small victories leading towards realizing the two Global Performance Targets for Road Safety of the United Nations Member States,” Dr Siti Zaharah Ishak said.

MyRAP will provide policy, performance tracking and investment tools to assist governments to measure and manage road safety infrastructure and optimize investments across the country. It will also build local capacity and expertise by training and accrediting local road safety experts in the iRAP methodology and connecting them with colleagues from around the world.

MyRAP is guided by the International Road Assessment Program’s evidence-based Star Rating methodology and investment planning tools which provide a simple and objective measure of the level of safety which is ‘built-in’ to the road for vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Five-star roads are the safest while one-star roads are the least safe.

Achieving greater than 75 per cent of travel on 3-star or better roads for all road users by 2030 stands to save 2,627 fatalities per year in Malaysia with an economic benefit of $91,736 million.²

MIROS was awarded an iRAP Star Performer award in 2017 and the MyRAP Case Study can be downloaded here.

MyRAP was launched at the 2nd Workshop on iRAP Developments in Asian Countries “Safer Roads for Safer Motorcyclists” held in association with the Global Road Safety Partnership’s Asia Pacific Road Safety Seminar.

See more on how MyRAP, ChinaRAP, IndiaRAP and ThaiRAP are working to save lives in the Asian region, with the global support of iRAP, FIA Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Global Road Safety Facility in the following video:

1 Royal Malaysian Police. (2019). Malaysia Road Fatalities Data over 10 Years.
2 International Road Assessment Programme. (2018). Vaccines for Roads Business Case for Safer Roads. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.vaccinesforroads.org/business-case-for-safer-roads/

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Supporting Materials:

• iRAP MyRAP Case Study
• iRAP’s Vaccines for Roads website and brochure
• iRAP’s Business Case for Safer Roads (see Malaysia profile)
• Developing an iRAP Programme in your Country or State

About Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS)
The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) was established in 2007 as an agency under the Ministry on Transport Malaysia to serve as a central repository of knowledge and information on road safety. The findings derived from research and evidence-based intervention programmes provide the basis for the formulation of new strategies, legislations, policies, and enforcement measures, governing road safety at the national level. Principally engaged in research, MIROS collaborates closely with local and international government agencies and private bodies to further the cause of road safety, serving as a one-stop centre for the generation and dissemination of road safety information and data.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Dr Siti Zaharah Ishak
Director General
MIROS
T +603 8924 9200
E siizaharah@miros.gov.my

Greg Smith
Managing Director – Strategic Projects
International Road Assessment Programme
M +63 995 144 9627
E greg.smith@irap.org