Road laws get extensive amendments

[solo]

The Road Transport Act 1987 would see up to 50 amendments which include forcing vehicle owners and drivers to inform the authorities of their change of address within two months of relocation.The move would significantly reduce the amount of outstanding summonses which has reached a total of RM2 billion from the year 2000 to 2008.The Bill is scheduled to be tabled today after being postponed since last April following public objections.Should the Bill be passed, a driver or vehicle owner who fails to inform the Road Transport Department (RTD) of his relocation could be fined up to RM2,000, if convicted, or compoundable for RM300.“Under the proposed amendments, it is the responsibility of vehicle owners and drivers to inform the RTD of their change of address within two months after relocation,” said the department’s director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan.He said without notification to the department, the existing address in the RTD database would be considered valid.Solah said the new provision would prevent cases where traffic offenders deny receiving notices from the RTD or the police.He added that the department had met Barisan Nasional backbenchers five times over the planned amendments.Offenders’ details such as the addresses have affected the authorities’ efforts in issuing postal summonses as many vehicle owners denied receiving notices from the RTD or police, resulting in the high amount of outstanding summonses.The RTD issues about 10,000 summonses everyday throughout the country, mostly for violation of traffic laws.Solah said to improve the success rate in the revenue collection of summonses, the RTD would bar vehicle owners and drivers who have violated the laws from conducting any transaction with the department.“Currently they are only restricted from renewing their driving licence or their motor vehicle licence. The new provision will expand the restriction to all transactions with the RTD for all violations under the Act and other written laws,” he said.“This move is meant to force offenders to settle their outstanding summonses and to uphold the law,” he added.He said vehicle owners who claimed to have been wrongfully served with summonses would have to prove that they were not driving at the time the violation was committed.“If they fail to do so, they are considered to have committed the offence and will have to take responsibility,” said Solah, adding that the new rule would encourage proper change of vehicle ownership.The new amendments, he said, would also empower the police and RTD to enforce the Road Transport Act on all roads including private roads.“Currently, enforcement is only restricted to roads as defined by Section 2, roads which are maintained by the federal government and accessible to the public,” he said.“In the future, any private road will be covered under the Road Transport Act,” he added.He explained that the amendments would enable the authorities to act when an accident happens on a private road.He said the provision empowers the police or RTD to enforce sections 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 and 45A when an accident results in death, acts against careless drivers and those who drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.Solah said with the amendments, the RTD, police and local authorities would be able to remove, clamp or impound any vehicle found to cause trouble to other road users.Under the existing provision, drivers found to be obstructing traffic could only be fined up to RM2,000 or imprisoned for up to six months. The offence is also compoundable.“The new provision empowers the police, RTD and local councils to clamp the wheels, or if the vehicle is still not moved, it could be impounded,” he said.“This is to ensure smooth traffic and to act against heavy vehicles that seldom park on the side of the roads, thus causing congestion,” he said.He added that the RTD would also be empowered to act against motorists who park on the side of the road or expressway rest areas to avoid roadblocks.

 

[affan66]

there should also be a KPI/SLA for the govt to inform quickly of the offences. Saman ekor should be stopped.

The objective is not to generate revenue but to enforce rules and ensuring safety of road users, not the other way round.