The driving habits of Malaysians are not just deplorable during the festive seasons but equally bad they drive to-and-fro work.

This is the observation of National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) chairman Lee Lam Thye.

He based his observation on the number of commuting accidents last year and the previous year, defining such accidents as those involving workers on their way to their work places and returning home.

Lee said that last year, 34,394 cases of commuting accident were reported as compared to 18,187 in 2008, mostly involving motorcyclists and their pillion.

While industrial accidents dipped drastically from 35,947 cases in 2008 to 20,814 last year, due to a greater sense of safety awareness, commuting accidents had become a growing concern, he added.

The Niosh chairman was speaking to reporters after opening a day-long seminar on accident reporting investigation and prevention in Kuching today.

In view of the worrying trend involving commuting accidents, Lee said Niosh, together with the cooperation of employers, planned to organise defensive riding and driving skills for employees to bring down the number of such accidents nationwide.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Occupational Safety and Health Department director Dasuki Mohd Heak said the department was looking into ways to improve safety awareness in small and medium enterprises (SME) and the timber industry to reduce the risk of industrial accidents.

He said 344 cases of industrial accidents were reported in the state last year, mostly in construction and manufacturing sectors.

Warning employers that it was an offence to cover up industrial accidents, Dasuki said the department had taken legal action against 11 cases while 20 others were in the midst of investigations for failure to report industrial accidents.

- Bernama