Authorities to enforce law prohibiting motorcycles from riding on the fast lane

SHAH ALAM: The Transport Ministry will request road traffic authorities to enforce the ruling prohibiting motorcyclists from riding on the fast lane or overtaking lane on the highways and expressways across the country.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Aziz Kaprawi said the ruling should be enforced without delay as part of the government's objective to reduce the high fatality rate among bikers.
"Motorcyclists should not be on the fast lane or right lane," he said.
"It is obvious nowadays that they are still flouting this rule without thinking about their safety. We need to beef up enforcement," Aziz told reporters after launching the three-year road safety campaign of "Visibility Makes a Difference" for motorcyclists by Road Safety Department and Linde Group here today.
"The ruling of not allowing motorcyclists to be on the fast lane or right lane has been around for quite some time and we need to apply it now," he added.
He said the Road Transport Department would fine tune the implementation of the ruling and discuss with traffic police on the best mechanism possible.
His comments coincide with international road safety experts' observation that Malaysia is the only country in Asean not enforcing the rule of no motorcycles on fast lanes of expressways.
He also criticised bikers' lackadaisical attitude of not considering safety and ignoring traffic rules constantly.
In 2015, bikers accounted for 4,203 deaths or 62% out of 6,706 total road fatalities.
It was an increase of 32 deaths for motorcyclists than 2014 statistics.‎
"Their behavior of running red lights, riding above the speed limit, changing lane without giving signal, swerving in and out of traffic without adequate safety steps, racing on the road and many other instances should be avoided. This should not be the norm.
"Bikers should always think about safety," Aziz added.
He also didn't rule out the possibility of the government making it compulsory soon for motorcyclists to wear reflective vests all the time.
"Bikers should be seen by other road users. Visibility makes a difference. At the moment, we are initiating advocacy programmes to encourage them to don the reflective vest or bright jacket," Aziz added.