The Impact of Socioeconomic and Macroeconomic Factors on Road Accident Rates in Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53840/jmm.v15i1.225Keywords:
Inflation, Population, Urbanization, Road Accident, Economic growthAbstract
Road accident rates in Malaysia are alarming and should be analyzed further to minimize the cases and its impact. Hence, this study investigates the impact of socioeconomic and macroeconomic factors on road accident rates in Malaysia over the period 1992-2024 using the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method. The dependent variable is road accident rates, while the independent variables include socioeconomic factors (population and urbanization) and macroeconomic factors (inflation and economic growth). The results show that urbanization has a significant positive effect on road accident rates, indicating that urban growth contributes to increased road accidents, likely due to higher traffic density and congestion. Conversely, population and inflation have significant negative effects on road accident rates, suggesting that larger populations spread across more areas and higher inflation may reduce vehicle usage, leading to fewer accidents. Economic growth is found to have a marginally significant positive impact on road accident rates, likely driven by increased vehicle ownership and transportation activity. The study highlights the importance of addressing urban planning, road safety measures, and infrastructure development to mitigate the adverse effects of urbanization and economic growth on road safety.
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