SOON Malaysians might be driving like Singaporeans.
What I mean by this is the sight of Singaporean drivers conforming to speed limits on their roads. It's a maximum 90kph on their highways and much less elsewhere. Cars in Singapore are often seen driving in unison, keeping to the speed limit in constant flow of traffic, afraid of being nabbed for breaking the law.
The reason why that might happen in Malaysia is thanks to the Automated Enforcement System (AES). It's a network of 1,081 cameras in 800 identified back spots noted for fatalities on the road.
Reportedly, AES will comprise 566 speed cameras, 265 traffic light cameras and 250 mobile cameras. Each camera can store images of 600 traffic offences per day. Fines will be split between the private companies and the Government on an increasing scale favouring the latter should the number of summons rise.
Those cameras will catch motorists beating red lights, which is an infamous habit among motorcyclists in the Klang Valley, and speeding on the roads and highways throughout the country.
Police speed traps will continue and together with the AES, both will seriously beef up the scanning of offenders on the roads of Peninsular Malaysia.
With so many sentries waiting to capture an image of traffic offenders, Road Transport Department director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan hopes the Perception of Being Caught (PoBC) among road users will increase from a meagre 20% to what he calls an ideal 80%.
That PoBC percentage basically translates to the fear a motorist has of being caught for flouting traffic rules. The low percentage in Malaysia shows just how motorists are blas over traffic rules and the higher the percentage is, well think of Singapore where the fear of being caught compels a lot of drivers to obey traffic rules.
The situation now is cars often never really follow the speed limits when in urban areas. Imagine travelling at 40kph in a single lane road in a housing area during rush hour.Honk!
Another bad and potentially fatal habit is motorcyclist beating traffic lights. For some, if there is an opportunity to speed off, they will. At times, some motorcyclists are so nonchalant they join traffic from another direction despite being instructed to stop.
By following the rules, hopefully fatalities on the road, of which the majority involve motorcyclists, will drop. Some will say the enhanced monitoring will rob some of the freedom Malaysian drivers have on the roads. There are drivers that often go faster than the speed limit. Maybe it's because they feel like they are crawling on the road in their modern cars if they were to travel at the speed limit.
Whatever the reason, a lot of drivers do follow the speed limit on the expressways and having more eyes on the road may lead to more disciplined and courteous driving.
All of that is fine if the purpose of the AES is to deter speeding and flouting of traffic laws. Warning signs of a camera nearby should follow the existing norm, which is to warn drivers to slow down.
If the distance between the warnings signs and the camera is beyond the current practice, then it goes to show that one of the main reasons for the system is to make money. Such a leeway shouldn't have been granted.
For motorists that right now have little regard for traffic rules, frequent and expensive summons will knock some sense into them. The interim period before PoBC increases, quite a number of Malaysians will find their wallets getting lighter if they continue to be apathetic towards traffic rules.
It will financially hurt them for a bit but the end result of more civic consciousness on the roads will justify it, begrudgingly though for some
What I mean by this is the sight of Singaporean drivers conforming to speed limits on their roads. It's a maximum 90kph on their highways and much less elsewhere. Cars in Singapore are often seen driving in unison, keeping to the speed limit in constant flow of traffic, afraid of being nabbed for breaking the law.
The reason why that might happen in Malaysia is thanks to the Automated Enforcement System (AES). It's a network of 1,081 cameras in 800 identified back spots noted for fatalities on the road.
Reportedly, AES will comprise 566 speed cameras, 265 traffic light cameras and 250 mobile cameras. Each camera can store images of 600 traffic offences per day. Fines will be split between the private companies and the Government on an increasing scale favouring the latter should the number of summons rise.
Those cameras will catch motorists beating red lights, which is an infamous habit among motorcyclists in the Klang Valley, and speeding on the roads and highways throughout the country.
Police speed traps will continue and together with the AES, both will seriously beef up the scanning of offenders on the roads of Peninsular Malaysia.
With so many sentries waiting to capture an image of traffic offenders, Road Transport Department director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan hopes the Perception of Being Caught (PoBC) among road users will increase from a meagre 20% to what he calls an ideal 80%.
That PoBC percentage basically translates to the fear a motorist has of being caught for flouting traffic rules. The low percentage in Malaysia shows just how motorists are blas over traffic rules and the higher the percentage is, well think of Singapore where the fear of being caught compels a lot of drivers to obey traffic rules.
The situation now is cars often never really follow the speed limits when in urban areas. Imagine travelling at 40kph in a single lane road in a housing area during rush hour.Honk!
Another bad and potentially fatal habit is motorcyclist beating traffic lights. For some, if there is an opportunity to speed off, they will. At times, some motorcyclists are so nonchalant they join traffic from another direction despite being instructed to stop.
By following the rules, hopefully fatalities on the road, of which the majority involve motorcyclists, will drop. Some will say the enhanced monitoring will rob some of the freedom Malaysian drivers have on the roads. There are drivers that often go faster than the speed limit. Maybe it's because they feel like they are crawling on the road in their modern cars if they were to travel at the speed limit.
Whatever the reason, a lot of drivers do follow the speed limit on the expressways and having more eyes on the road may lead to more disciplined and courteous driving.
All of that is fine if the purpose of the AES is to deter speeding and flouting of traffic laws. Warning signs of a camera nearby should follow the existing norm, which is to warn drivers to slow down.
If the distance between the warnings signs and the camera is beyond the current practice, then it goes to show that one of the main reasons for the system is to make money. Such a leeway shouldn't have been granted.
For motorists that right now have little regard for traffic rules, frequent and expensive summons will knock some sense into them. The interim period before PoBC increases, quite a number of Malaysians will find their wallets getting lighter if they continue to be apathetic towards traffic rules.
It will financially hurt them for a bit but the end result of more civic consciousness on the roads will justify it, begrudgingly though for some
