SEREMBAN: The 30kph speed limit rule in school zones is in the process of being gazetted, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Once this is done, he said a 500m stretch outside the school would become a 30kph speed zone.
“Motorists will not be allowed to exceed the speed limit 250m before the school entrance and another 250m after that.
“This is important as an average of 70 fatalities are recorded in school zones annually,” he said after launching the Safe School Zone (SSZ) pilot project at SK Taman Seri Pagi and SMK Seri Pagi yesterday.
It was previously reported that the nationwide 30kph school zone speed limit had remained ungazetted more than two years after its approval by the Cabinet Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Congestion in July 2024.
Loke said the Malaysian Road Safety Council (MKJR), in collaboration with government agencies, local authorities and partners from the non-governmental sector, adopted an approach to reduce vehicle speeds through infrastructure design and interventions within school zones.
“Our objective is to ensure that the roads themselves guide users toward making safer choices.
“This year, the MKJR is implementing this initiative across nine states,” he said.
Under the safe school zone concept, there will be raised pedestrian crossings to slow down vehicles and provide safer access to road users.
There will also be lane narrowing to encourage drivers to stay attentive.
Appropriate road signs and markings would be put up to remind motorists of the speed limit.
Schools are required to prepare traffic management plans, pick-up and drop-off areas and install safety barriers where necessary.
At another event later, Loke touched on personalised vehicle registration plates, saying they could generate higher revenue for the country but the authorities have no plans to introduce such a system.
“There was a proposal on this before where, for example, buyers can have their names on their vehicle registration plate.
“But since we already have our own established registration system of alphabet and numbers, we have decided to stick to it,” he said.
The present system had been in place for decades, he told reporters after giving out a one-off special financial assistance to some 400 taxi, rental car and school bus drivers.
Personalised registration plates, also known as vanity plates, are specialised vehicle registration plates that can feature a combination of letters and numbers within specific character limits chosen by the vehicle owner.
Instead of receiving a standard sequence issued by the road transport authorities, individuals pay a premium to display specific phrases, names, acronyms or numbers as a form of personal expression.
These plates are huge licensing revenue generators for governments.
Loke also said the ministry would continue to issue two or three special edition registration plates annually with the proceeds to be used to assist the people.
Citing an example, he said the special “H” series vehicle registration numbers launched in September had generated a revenue of RM91.2mil for the government.
The revenue, he said, would be used to provide RM1,000 aid to 38,000 taxi and rental car drivers, as well as 15,000 school bus drivers nationwide, among others.
In KUALA LUMPUR, Loke said that Road Transport Department (JPJ) services have continued without disruption despite the suspension of MyEG Services Bhd and Zetrix AI Bhd as collection agents from Oct 5.
He said motorists could still renew their road tax and driving licences, as well as access other JPJ services through the MyJPJ application.
“We have not faced any problems over the past two weeks,” he told reporters after attending an event here yesterday.
The ministry had suspended MyEG and Zetrix AI’s JPJ collection services over RM314mil in government revenue that had not been remitted to the authorities.
Separately, Loke said Prasarana Malaysia Bhd was required to submit detailed weekly reports on malfunctioning lifts and escalators at public transport stations.
However, he acknowledged that the situation had improved significantly following maintenance efforts and closer monitoring by Prasarana.
