652 cases of accidents involving heavy vehicles were reported in the first quarter

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 652 cases of accidents involving heavy vehicles were reported nationwide in the first quarter of this year.

According to Berita Harian, Deputy Minister of Transport, Datuk Hasbi Habibollah, said the number included 287 deaths, 95 serious and 270 minor injuries.

He said, the incident was caused by various factors, including the negligence of a sleepy driver, driving above the permitted speed limit, and vehicles carrying too much load and not being properly maintained.

“In order to deal with the issue, he said, one of the main actions taken was to intensify enforcement activities by the Road Transport Department (JPJ), particularly in terms of vehicle load limit regulations and speed limits for heavy vehicles.

“In addition to operating 53 enforcement stations across the country, JPJ is also supplied with 75 units of portable weighing equipment for enforcement purposes.

“Last year, a total of 45,015 summons notices were issued involving dangerous goods offences, while up to April this year, a total of 9,214 summons notices were issued,” he said during an oral answer session in the Dewan Rakyat, today.

He answered a question from Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh (PH-Ledang) about the statistics and causes of accidents involving heavy vehicles for the first quarter of this year.

Explaining further, Hasbi said that the Ministry of Transport together with the Ministry of Public Works is in the final process of developing the ‘High Speed ​​- Weigh in Motion’ (HS-WIM) system.

“Through the use of the HS-WIM system, heavy vehicle enforcement activities can be carried out in real time or automatically without the need for the vehicle to stop to be weighed.

“The use of the HS-WIM system will also be able to reduce the dependence on a high amount of manpower or law enforcement personnel,” he said.

In addition, he said, members will be able to carry out enforcement activities in other locations where the HS-WIM system is not installed.

“The HS-WIM system is expected to be able to expand reach, increase compliance and further strengthen the effectiveness of enforcement on motor vehicle load limit regulations as well as be a long-term solution in dealing with the issue of heavy vehicle load limits,” he said.