Strict action on errant heavy vehicle drivers must be fully enforced
KUALA LUMPUR: The Alliance for a Safe Community commended the government's decision to establish a comprehensive database of errant drivers, calling it a crucial step in ensuring those with a record of serious traffic offences are barred from driving public or heavy transport vehicles.
Its chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, however, urged that the database be made operational without delay and that it include offences such as reckless driving, speeding, substance abuse, dangerous overtaking, or causing fatalities.
'Such a database should have been initiated earlier. Drivers with repeated or severe offences should be immediately disqualified from driving heavy vehicles. Safety must come before employment,' he said in a statement today.
Lee also urged the government to conduct a thorough audit and screening of all current heavy vehicle drivers, including bus drivers, to ensure that no individual with a bad driving record is allowed to continue operating on the road.
'The safety of the public should never be compromised by leniency or bureaucratic delay,' he remarked.
In addition to stricter enforcement on drivers, the alliance also called for transport companies to be held accountable under corporate liability provisions.
Lee, who is also a member of the Road Safety Council, stated that employers who continue to engage known errant drivers must face severe penalties.
'There should be corporate liability provisions in place, so that transport operators are directly responsible for verifying the competence, training, and track record of their drivers.
'The recent Gerik bus crash tragedy would not have happened if the errant bus driver and the bus had been taken off the road through strong and uncompromising enforcement with integrity,' he said.
Lee said that no matter how good the policies are, they will fail without consistent and effective enforcement, including random and routine spot checks, increased use of dashcams and telematics, black box systems and strict rest hour regulations.
'We can not afford to wait until the next horrific accident makes headlines. The time to act is now.
'We call on all stakeholders, including enforcement agencies, the Transport Ministry, commercial vehicle companies and drivers themselves, to work together to make our roads safer for everyone,' he added.
In the recent tragedy on June 9, a chartered bus carrying 42 Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students from Jertih, Terengganu, to the university's campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak, crashed with a Perodua Alza and overturned, resulting in the deaths of 15 students.
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