KenaSaman.com

SHAH ALAM: Motorists can no longer give the excuse that they have not received any traffic summons because they changed their correspondence address.

Under a proposed amendment to the Road Transport Act, the onus is on vehicle owners to update their address with the JPJ. Otherwise, the department will regard the address in their record as the valid location to send letters, notifications or summonses.

JPJ director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said many offenders had been able to get away now by using the excuse, resulting in a backlog of unsettled summonses.

Those owing summonses for offences such as illegal parking issued by local authorities will also find it hard to get away as the councils can apply to the JPJ to blacklist them for not settling their summonses.

“This means the motorists will face difficulties when renewing their driving licence or road tax, or carry out tasks such as transfer of ownership or even change the engine number,” Solah said.

Under proposed amendments to the Act, these motorists must settle any pending matters with the JPJ or they would not be allowed to proceed with any matters related to the department.

Currently, motorists are only barred from renewing their road tax and driving licence.

Solah also said that motorists could update their details by mail, e-mail or through the JPJ website or counters or selected post offices.

Speaking to reporters after a public briefing on the amendments held at the Shah Alam Convention Centre Mall here, Solah said there would be 60 changes to be introduced to the Act, scheduled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat when it convenes on Oct 11.

The amendments, he said, were aimed at enhancing enforcement, improving road safety and reducing road accidents.

“They are not meant to make money from traffic offenders.”

The compounds for traffic summonses remains at RM300. The minimum age to apply for a motorcycle licence will stay the same, too.

Solah said that the proposed automated enforcement system (AES) to have video surveillance on roads was also another proposed amendment.

The AES, used in 55 countries, is targetted at discouraging people from speeding or beating traffic lights.

Outsourced to a company to take charge of surveillance, Sollah said JPJ officers would be the ones to decide on issuing summonses.

“The notice, which comes with printouts of the visuals, would be sent to the motorist’s home within a week of the offence.”

The AES will be installed at 265 traffic lights nationwide in areas where motorists are known to frequently beat the light.

It will also be sited at another 566 spots, including highways, to detect speeding, Solah said.

Signages, he said, would be displayed in areas where the AES is installed.

He also said that the information of drivers flouting traffic rules recorded under the AES would be deemed confidential and would not be disclosed to anyone except the motorist himself.

In April, the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill was tabled in Dewan Rakyat with 51 amendments, including increasing the compound for traffic summonses from RM300 to RM1,000 and the minimum age to apply for a motorcycle licence raised from 16 to 17.

Read the full article:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi ... sec=nation

SHAH ALAM: Errant drivers and motorcyclists who have been ignoring their traffic summonses will soon find that they have reached “a dead end”.

Under a proposed amendment to the law, they can no longer claim that no tickets were issued to them. The offenders will not be allowed to renew their driving licence or road tax, nor carry out any other tasks related to the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

This would mean that they would not be allowed to apply for transfer of vehicle ownership or even change engine numbers, JPJ director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said.

Other features of the proposed amendments:

> Local councils will be allowed to send to the JPJ the names of habitual offenders who do not settle summonses;

Read the full article:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi ... sec=nation