Don't drive if you are fatigued, sleepy - Health DG

"Do not begin a drive if you are fatigued or deprived of sleep. Being fatigued significantly increases the risk of a crash," he said on Facebook.

"It makes us less aware of what's happening on the road and impairs our ability to respond quickly and safely if a dangerous situation arises," the health official said.

Meanwhile, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the number of commuting accidents had increased almost 30 per cent in just six years, from 22,036 cases in 2010 to 28,579 in 2015.

Such accidents refer to those that occur when workers travel to and from their workplace.

Lee, who is the chairman of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), said employers had the duty to protect their workers and other road users by managing occupational road risk.

"Employers should develop and implement comprehensive safety procedures and training programmes to help their employees become competent drivers and riders," he said in a statement.

Lee said seat belts must be provided for all passengers travelling in company vehicles which must also have proper maintenance schedule.

He also proposed that the government include road safety in the school syllabus to help inculcate good etiquette and behaviour on the road among children.

The authorities should identify all dangerous stretches along federal, state and municipal roads and take steps to rectify them in efforts to reduce road mishaps, he said, adding that mandatory jail sentence should be imposed against those who drove recklessly and caused the death of others.