SEREMBAN: Instant repercussions await motorists who break traffic laws during this Chinese New Year period.
From Jan 29 to Feb 12, motorists guilty of committing six major traffic offences will be immediately issued a RM300 summons as part of the 14th Op Selamat.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim, said these offences include driving in the emergency lane; speeding; queue-jumping; overtaking on a double line; disregarding the traffic lights; as well as using mobile phones while driving.
He said the move is meant to educate road users on complying with traffic regulations, on top of ensuring the safety of road users during the festive period.
“We are expecting traffic congestion in several locations due to the increase in the number of vehicles during the Chinese New Year holidays.
“Police will be increasing monitoring efforts to control traffic flow and reduce accidents,” he said.
Noor Rashid was speaking to the media after officiating the 14th Op Selamat at the Seremban (north-bound) R&R area here on Tuesday.
Also present were PLUS PLUS Malaysia Bhd (PLUS) chairman, Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim; Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director, Datuk Azisman Alias; and Negri Sembilan police chief, Datuk Noor Azam Jamaludin.
Noor Rashid said police will consider PLUS’ suggestion for emergency lanes to be open to all vehicles along two critical routes in Perak for the festive season.
The routes are Kilometre 287 to Kilometre 289.95 of the PLUS highway at Simpang Pulai-Gopeng near the Simpang Pulai lay-by, as well as Kilometre 367.3 (north-bound) from Slim River to Sungkai.
“We have no objection to allowing PLUS to allow access to the emergency lanes if it can reduce traffic congestion.
“Police will also be stationed at the two routes to ensure smooth flow of traffic, especially during emergencies or accidents,” he said.
Meanwhile, Noor Rashid also spoke on the country’s traffic accident statistics, which he said showed an increase from 20,752 cases in 2017 to 21,041 cases last year.
The number of summonses issued also marked an increase, from 255,392 in 2017 to 385,547 summonses last year.