Its president, Zaly Shah, said that while reports of drink driving often raised public concern, “is this a big and frequent issue that should worry us and require changes to the legal system, or is it one issue among many others”.

Zaly said an average of 18 people a day die in road accidents, but “statistics I have seen show that accidents involving drunk drivers are small, isolated and seasonal. When one happens, another may follow, but when it doesn’t occur, it doesn’t happen at all”.

He added that drink driving is not among the biggest contributors to accidents. “Careless driving due to environmental factors, rain, and infrastructure issues such as potholes contribute more compared to drunken drivers.”

He said the institute backed the reviewing and strengthening of laws to prevent recurrence.

Zaly also cautioned against framing the issue along racial or religious lines. “Accidents do not recognise race, age, gender or religion. It can happen to anyone.”

His comments come in the wake of a fatal accident in Klang on Sunday when delivery rider Amirul Hafiz Omar was killed after his motorcycle was rammed by a car driven by a man said to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

The driver, R Saktygaanapathy, has since been charged with murder, and pleaded guilty to a separate charge of self-administering drugs.

In October last year, transport minister Loke Siew Fook said fatal accidents caused by road users under the influence of alcohol made up less than 0.5% of all fatal road accidents between 2022 and June 2025.