Motorists beware! Cameras at thousands of locations around the country will be tracking traffic offenders and bad drivers.
The cameras form the basis for the soon-to-be-introduced Automated Enforcement System (AES) which will provide round-the-clock checks on traffic.
The locations for the cameras were jointly identified by the police, Road Safety Department, Malaysian Institute for Road Safety and Research (Miros) and the Road Transport Department (JPJ).
Miros director-general Prof Dr Radin Umar Radin Sohadi said the cameras would be placed at locations where motorist have been known to speed and beat the red light and at accident-prone areas.
“We studied possible locations based on the roads where there are speed related problems, especially where single-vehicle accidents occur, when motorists go into a curve too quickly.”
“The idea is for the cameras to focus on those who flout the law and have bad driving habits. As for those who make errors or lapses, that will be handled by education programmes and training,” he added.
JPJ deputy director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said authorities would be meeting again to discuss where to actually place the cameras.
Although no clear timeline has been given for the full implementation of the AES, testing for the system is said to be starting early next year.
A couple of models are being considered to finance the setting up of the system. One of for the Government to pay for the setting up of the cameras while other is to privatise the operation, therefore costing the Government nothing.
Under the privatisation model, the company that makes the successful bid can recoup its costs by taking a certain percentage of the summonses collected.
Sources said that if the privatisation model was chosen, the company would not have a say where the cameras would be located, while summonses would continue to be issued by the JPJ and police.
Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said the AES was a vital ingredient in the Government’s objectives of reducing road fatalities by 58% by 2010.
“It will be a very strong antibiotic for our enforcement efforts and will take us into the same league as advanced countries,” he said.
The cameras form the basis for the soon-to-be-introduced Automated Enforcement System (AES) which will provide round-the-clock checks on traffic.
The locations for the cameras were jointly identified by the police, Road Safety Department, Malaysian Institute for Road Safety and Research (Miros) and the Road Transport Department (JPJ).
Miros director-general Prof Dr Radin Umar Radin Sohadi said the cameras would be placed at locations where motorist have been known to speed and beat the red light and at accident-prone areas.
“We studied possible locations based on the roads where there are speed related problems, especially where single-vehicle accidents occur, when motorists go into a curve too quickly.”
“The idea is for the cameras to focus on those who flout the law and have bad driving habits. As for those who make errors or lapses, that will be handled by education programmes and training,” he added.
JPJ deputy director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said authorities would be meeting again to discuss where to actually place the cameras.
Although no clear timeline has been given for the full implementation of the AES, testing for the system is said to be starting early next year.
A couple of models are being considered to finance the setting up of the system. One of for the Government to pay for the setting up of the cameras while other is to privatise the operation, therefore costing the Government nothing.
Under the privatisation model, the company that makes the successful bid can recoup its costs by taking a certain percentage of the summonses collected.
Sources said that if the privatisation model was chosen, the company would not have a say where the cameras would be located, while summonses would continue to be issued by the JPJ and police.
Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said the AES was a vital ingredient in the Government’s objectives of reducing road fatalities by 58% by 2010.
“It will be a very strong antibiotic for our enforcement efforts and will take us into the same league as advanced countries,” he said.
