The road transport department (JPJ) says it will be introducing new standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines for commercial and public service vehicles next month. According to JPJ director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli, this was being done to address the recent surge in the number of accidents involving heavy vehicles, especially lorries.
He said the SOPs will include stricter action protocols that will be taken against commercial vehicle drivers who drive above the set speed limit to the point of endangering other road users, as Bernama reports.
“Currently, JPJ is scrutinising and detailing the SOP in collaboration with other stakeholders. We are focusing on vehicles over 7.5 tonnes. Among the matters being detailed are stricter actions to be taken against commercial vehicles that exceed the speed limit, and also the banning of such vehicles from driving in the far-right lane as previously announced by transport minister Anthony Loke,” he said.
Last month, it was reported that heavy vehicles would soon not be allowed to use the rightmost lane on highways, a ruling that was gazetted in 2015 but had yet to be enforced. The move is one of five improvements that the transport ministry said it was aiming to introduce and enforce.
The other regulatory enhancements include mandatory speed control device installation, GPS tracking, high-speed weigh-in-motion (HS-WIM) detectors at 11 highway locations, and additional automated enforcement system (AES) cameras.
The post JPJ to introduce new SOPs and guidelines for heavy vehicles in May, focusing on vehicles over 7.5 tonnes appeared first on Paul Tan’s Automotive News.
