KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 856,873 summonses have been issued by the Road Transport Department (RTD) during enforcement operations against goods vehicles from 2023 to July this year.
Utusan Malaysia reported that the summonses were issued following the inspection of 1.55 million goods vehicles, resulting in fines exceeding RM257 million, based on an average fine of RM300 per summons.
Of the total, 989,025 goods vehicles were inspected last year and 563,053 in the first seven months of this year.
The identified offences include driving without a competent driving license (CDL), exceeding load limits, carrying hazardous goods, and others.
RTD director-general Aedy Fadly Ramli said enforcement against goods vehicles was one of the operations being intensified to address issues related to overloading or accidents involving lorries or trailers on the roads.
Of the various operations conducted, he said, 524,873 summonses were issued in 2023, while 332,000 were issued from January to July this year.
"From the 856,873 notices issued, 81,263 were for lacking a CDL, 5,077 for expired CDLs and 123,652 for other licensing-related violations.
"For goods vehicles, RTD issued approximately 63,686 notices for exceeding load limits, carrying hazardous goods (44,439), failing to comply with goods regulations (521) and other offences (266,474)," he was quoted as saying in the Utusan Malaysia report.
He said 13,660 notices were issued for major offences from 2023 to July this year, including 3,880 for using mobile phones and 3,866 for not wearing seat belts.
Among others, there were 2,722 notices for ignoring traffic signals, 1,374 for using emergency lanes, 710 for continuous driving in the right lane, 648 for dangerous lane cutting and 460 for overtaking on double lines.
"Additionally, 134,839 notices had been issued to lorries or trailers, with 396 for lacking Motor Vehicle Licenses (LKM), expired LKM (96,215), lacking insurance (36,709), misuse of LKM (128) and other violations (1,391).
"For technical violations, approximately 123,262 notices were issued, including 5,660 for registration number offences, tinted windows (313), lighting issues (589), tyres (29,060), vehicle modifications (10,983) and for other offences (76,657)," he was quoted as saying.
In the report, Aedy said RTD continuously enforced regulations to monitor and take strict action against vehicle owners and drivers who violate regulations.
He said vehicles that carry excessive loads and commit technical offences would face penalties under the Road Transport Act 1987 and the Land Public Transport Act 2010, along with the related regulations.
"RTD is serious and will not compromise with drivers who persistently break the law and regulations.
"Strict enforcement actions will be implemented for overloading offences, including vehicle seizures and forfeitures," he was quoted as saying.