1,780 drivers charged in court for Hari Raya Aidilfitri traffic offences

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 1,780 drivers had been charged in court for committing seven major traffic offences during the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri Operation (Ops HRA), which ended on July 2.
The Road Transport Department (RTD) in a statement here today said during the operation, not using seat belts, beating the traffic lights and using mobile phones while driving were among major offences recorded totalling 422, 364 and 256 cases respectively.
It was followed by cutting queues from the left with 235 cases, overtaking on double lines (217), driving in the emergency lane (211) and continuous driving in the right lane with 75 cases.
During the operation, RTD had imposed stricter action on seven types of offences by hauling the offenders straight to court and found the method showed positive effect in educating the drivers and as a result there were fewer motorists who committed offences by using the emergency lane, he said.
The 15-day operation also witnessed a total of 612 summonses issued against bus drivers and operators by RTD officers who went undercover in 884 buses where 168 of them did not have the second driver as required.
A total of 12,025 buses were also inspected at the depots and terminals which resulted in 12 drivers from the 7,067 tested, failing in the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) urine test.
The RTD had also inspected a total of 35,367 motorcycles with 3,585 of them being found to have committed various traffic offences and 55 of them had been seized.
Following the ban on heavy vehicles from using all roads, enforced on June 23 and 24, and July 1 and 2, the RTD had taken action against 35 vehicles and had impounded 20 of them.
The statement also said that the additional seven locations of the Awareness Automated System (Awas) cameras at accident-prone sites, had impacted positively in educating drivers to comply with the rules and driving not exceeding the speed limits.
A total of 13,806 summonses were issued for speeding and beating the traffic lights at 21 locations of Awas cameras, it said.
It also added that the total number of vehicles inspected had increased by 16.8% from 90,568 last year to 105,817 in this operation. — Bernama