To weed out errant motorists on the road, Ops Sikap will kick off from February 2 to the 16. The Road Transport Department (JPJ) will hold a joint operation with the police, Department of Environment and the Immigration Department during the Chinese New Year period, The Star reports.
A total of 100 enforcement officers from JPJ will go undercover on express buses to weed out law-breaking motorists. At the same time, the officers will also inspect buses for roadworthiness before they embark. An emphasis however, will be placed on motorcyclists as 60% of fatal road accidents involved riders, according to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
In relation to errant motorists, the JPJ will be keeping an eye out for red light dodgers, vehicles driving on the emergency lane, queue jumping, overtaking at double lines, hand phone usage while driving and failure to use safety helmets and seatbelts – labelled as the “seven big sins” by the JPJ director-general, Datuk Seri Ismail Ahmad.
“The undercover officers may take a ride on a bus from Alor Setar to Kuala Lumpur and monitor them if they are using their handphones or overtaking along stretches they are not supposed to,” said Ismail. “The errant drivers will be issued with on-the-spot summonses when they arrive at their destinations,” he added.
As for bus roadworthiness inspections, a certificate will be issued before buses are allowed to embark. “We will also be carrying out random checks at 82 express bus depots and 29 bus terminals nationwide to check on the drivers and condition of the buses. A certificate will be issued to allow the buses to leave the terminal or depot after clearing the inspection,” Ismail stated.
Additionally, Liow stated that over ten thousand road accidents were registered during the Chinese New Year period in 2014. “During the Chinese New Year period last year, a total of 17,632 road accidents were recorded, of which 186 resulted in 199 deaths,” he said, an average of 13 deaths a day. Between January and September last year, 4,203 fatal motorcycle accidents were recorded.
The post Ops Sikap from Feb 2 to 16 – JPJ officers to go undercover in buses, catch “seven big sins” offenders appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
