Govt should consider mandatory jail sentences for reckless drivers

KUALA LUMPUR: Imposing mandatory jail sentences was more timely now than before because passengers and the public were at the complete mercy of reckless drivers of buses and other heavy vehicles, said National Road Safety Council member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, in a statement today.
"In the latest incident, a driver of an express bus and 26 passengers were injured when the bus they were travelling in overturned at KM434.9 of the PLUS Expressway (northbound) at Rawang early today.
"The initial report shows that in the 4.50am incident, the bus, which was heading to Kuala Lumpur, was believed to have hit the road divider and skidded before it overturned and entered the opposite lane," he said.
On Oct 24, eight factory workers died and 44 others were injured in an accident involving two factory buses and a factory van at KM147 of the North-South Expressway, near the Juru toll plaza.
On Dec 24 last year, an express bus travelling north plunged into a six-metre-deep ravine at KM137 of the North-South Expressway, killing 14 people.
The worst fatal crash happened in 2013 when 37 passengers died and 16 were injured in an accident which took place near the Chin Swee Temple, in Genting Highlands, Pahang.
"I believe we need a radical move to tackle this issue by instilling fear and full responsibility among drivers that they would be sent to jail if found guilty for reckless driving.
"We must have effective laws to ensure these are deterrent enough to curb reckless driving, especially among heavy vehicle drivers," he said. — Bernama