PETALING JAYA: Heavy traffic, coupled with traffic accidents, marked the start of the holiday exodus from Klang Valley.
On its official Facebook page, the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) said congestion had been reported at the Genting Sempah Toll Plaza along the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway.
Slow traffic was also reported on the North-South Expressway yesterday from Rawang to Bukit Beruntung and from Skudai to Kulai.
A series of accidents caused slow traffic, with the Plus Malaysia Bhd’s (PLUS) X page reporting accidents at KM259.6 from Port Dickson to Senawang, at KM300.3 from Tapah to Gopeng and at KM429.4 from Sungai Buaya to Bukit Beruntung.
In the afternoon, it added that traffic accidents were also reported along KM280.7 from Bandar Ainsdale to Nilai and KM161.6 from Jawi to Bandar Cassia.
Over in JOHOR, state police said at least 30% more vehicles were expected to enter Johor this Chinese New Year.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the police will focus on ensuring smooth traffic flow at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (at Johor Baru) and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (at Second Link) throughout the festive season.
“We believe these two main entry points will experience extraordinary congestion due to the continuous long holidays throughout the Chinese New Year period.
“We expect to see an increase of between 30% and 40% in the number of vehicles entering Johor this festive season compared to normal days, including those from Singapore.
“We have also identified 47 hotspot locations that frequently experience traffic congestion, as well as 38 black spots where accidents occur regularly,” he said at a press conference after launching Ops Selamat 25 in conjunction with Chinese New Year at Sutera Mall in Johor Baru yesterday.
Comm Ab Rahaman said some 1,801 policemen, including 214 officers, will be involved in the operation conducted between Feb 15 and 20.
“Apart from ensuring smooth traffic flow, we also aim to reduce accidents by at least 5% throughout Ops Selamat this time compared to previous operations.
“We will focus on preventing accidents involving motorcyclists as they were the main contributors to fatal accidents in previous operations,” he said.
He added that some 1,169 accidents, including five fatal cases involving eight deaths, were reported during the previous Ops Selamat.
Comm Ab Rahaman also urged those who are leaving their homes during Chinese New Year to inform the nearest police station.
Previously, LLM said it projected around 3.27 million vehicles on the road during the Chinese New Year festive period.
It added that of the total, around 2.2 million vehicles were expected to be on the PLUS network during the same period.
