PETALING JAYA: The Road Transport Department (JPJ) wants the Automatic Awareness System (Awas) linked to traffic police for more comprehensive enforcement.
JPJ director-general Datuk Seri Nadzri Siron believes the move will increase the effectiveness of the system.
Awas – a combination of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) and traffic offence demerit system (Kejara) – came into effect in early April.
“Our enforcement needs to be more comprehensive. If we collaborate with the police, who have a wider reach nationwide, we can better enforce Awas.
“If the JPJ and police summonses can be integrated into Awas, it will become a lot easier to act against those who frequently flout traffic rules,” Nadzri said.
At the moment, the Awas summons and demerit system only applies to traffic and speeding offences caught by the AES cameras.
Once an offender settles the JPJ summons, Kejara demerit points will be automatically added to his or her record. Those who refuse to pay the AES summons will be taken to court.
Ten of the 14 AES cameras are on highways, with two more at traffic lights on Jalan Ipoh and Jalan Klang Lama, and another two at traffic lights in Putrajaya.
Nadzri said the implementation of Awas was mainly to educate road users and prevent accidents, and not to penalise motorists.
“This system serves as a reminder to be careful on the road. For repeat offenders, Kejara gives us the ability to revoke their licences and remove them from our roads, something we have not been able to do before,” he said.
Nadzri rubbished allegations that there were hundreds of cameras operating under Awas.
“Apart from the existing 14, JPJ has approved an additional seven cameras and any increase will be done gradually. There is no such thing as 400 AES cameras detecting traffic offenders,” he said.
On whether or not the authorities were doing enough to inform motorists of the “black spots”, Nadzri said there was clear signage about a kilometre ahead of each AES camera.
“If our aim was to punish motorists, why would we have signboards indicating the cameras? We are not hiding behind trees or bushes.
“It is a transparent process to get road users to abide by the rules,” he said.
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/04/22/jpj-wants-aes-linked-to-cops-nadzri-move-will-help-boost-effective-enforcement/#p0Y4xz2B8oJwqUjY.99
