PETALING JAYA: Ahead of the balik kampung rush during Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Aidilfitri – both in the first quarter of 2025 – the Road Transport Department (JPJ) has stepped up enforcement to ensure compliance with traffic regulations.
The nationwide Ops Gempur Teknikal is taking place at a time when commercial vehicles are increasingly involved in road accidents, including fatal ones.
“The department is seriously looking into the rising trend of fatal accidents involving commercial vehicles.
“Following a series of road accidents and deaths involving commercial vehicles, JPJ will now seize vehicles and revoke the ownership of vehicles that fail to comply with rules under the Land Transport Act 2010 through the special operation called Ops Gempur Teknikal nationwide,” JPJ said in a statement on Thursday.
Under Section 57 of the Act, owners of the company or vehicle that fails to prioritise other users will face fines of between RM1,000 and RM50,000.
Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) chairman Dr Wong Shaw Voon said enforcement should also be supported by the public’s involvement.
He said it is equally important that other motorists are empowered to ensure road safety such as filing complaints on vehicles that do not comply with traffic rules.
“If a driver notices a lorry or trailer that does not comply with traffic regulations, they should file a complaint with the authorities so that action can be taken,” he said when contacted.
The public, he said, should also be made aware of their right in choosing operators with good track records and who prioritise safety.
As opposed to imposing blanket regulations, which will disrupt business viability, Wong said with the data collected from public complaints, the authorities would be able to identify problematic operating companies.
“Further analysis by the authorities and enforcement should also be done to focus on companies with bad track records.
“With more targeted enforcement, the whole industry will not be disrupted and businesses will not be affected while resources could be better managed,” he said, adding that current requirements by Puspakom on the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles are adequate.
“If there is too much red tape, it will mean more officers need to be deployed and this will further strain our resources.”
Meanwhile, Road Safety Marshal Club founder and president K. Bala called for Puspakom officers who approve commercial vehicles that cause road accidents to be investigated as well.
This is to rule out any possibility of integrity issues among these officers.
“Commercial vehicles are required to go through regular inspection at least once every six months at Puspakom, and whenever there were accidents, only the drivers would be blamed.
“Why not investigate officers who provided the approval too?” said the road safety activist also known as “Captain Bala”.
He added that the operating company must also be made liable should any vehicle in its fleet cause a road accident.
Assoc Prof Dr Law Teik Hua, head of the Road Safety Research Centre at Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering, proposed raising the penalties for failure to comply with existing laws.
“There should be a more stringent enforcement mechanism, with frequent spot checks or heavier penalties for vehicles that fail inspection because of negligence or wilful non-compliance.
“This will encourage greater responsibility among vehicle owners and operators to ensure their vehicles remain in safe and roadworthy condition,” he said.
Earlier this week, seven people were killed and 33 others injured in a collision involving five vehicles at KM204 of the northbound North-South Expressway (NSE) near the Ayer Keroh, Melaka, rest and service area.
On Nov 13, a 21-year-old woman in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, died after a container fell off a trailer as it was negotiating a sharp turn, crushing her car.
Two days later, a 33-year-old aerospace engineer was killed in an accident along NSE in Kluang, Johor, involving a trailer after one of its front tyres burst.
On Nov 23, a parked lorry with its handbrake off backed into a motorcyclist in front of a mall in Jalan Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur, killing him.
