Assessment of road safety management at institutional level in Malaysia: A case study

This paper examines the current institutional arrangements for the management of road safety in Malaysia in a systematic manner. It focuses on road safety funding and seeks to provide an insight into how funding factors may affect both the effectiveness and the efficiency or road safety management. The study follows an exploratory approach based on semi-structured interviews targeting key stakeholders in road safety management such as policy makers from various government agencies, private sector representatives and academia. The information collected is subsequently analysed using a template analysis technique based on a set of criteria defined by the World Bank. The analysis reveals that the efficiency and effectiveness of the road safety management system in Malaysia may be sustainably improved by addressing the current dependence of funding solely on government sources, the fragmentation of the decision making process of this de facto multi-disciplinary area, the road safety legislative framework, public awareness, local needs and institutional capacity. An institutional model based on 2nd generation road funds is tentative suggested to this effect.