Police To Actively Clamp Down Hard On Reckless Drivers

Authorities will take stern action against drivers that drive dangerously and risk the safety of the other motorists, even if said dangerous drivers are not directly involved in the resulting accident.

Reckless drivers are a menace. We think we can safely assume nearly all motorists have come across several such individuals while on the road.

The shift in focus to find and apprehend these irresponsible people was announced by Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Rashid Ibrahim, as reported by The Sun Daily. Police have been mulling the move to curb the high rate of road accidents and fatalities.

"These are motorists who drive dangerously, zig-zagging in traffic and causing collisions between other vehicles as a result. Though these drivers are not involved in the accident, their reckless and inconsiderate attitude endangers other road users. We are going after these drivers and hope to trace them with the help of public closed-circuit cameras and other means. Such drivers must face stern action." he said during a press conference on Wednesday.

"Malaysia could be considered to be in the top 10 of countries with the highest number of accidents. Stern action and costly fines may help. In Europe, if one fails to use safety belts, the fine is 300 euros. This has helped in enforcing the law. We have put our suggestions and future initiatives to the Home Ministry for discussion." he said today after handing out awards to 15 defensive drivers in conjunction with Ops Selamat 7 in Cheras.

The statistics for this year’s Hari Raya operation, titled Ops Selamat 7, compared to last year’s makes for grim reading: there was a 10.7% rise in road accidents to a total of 20,458, and road fatalities had risen 39.2% with 330 deaths with 60.6% of that made up of motorcyclists.

In total, Police issued 145,066 summonses during the two-week operation, with over 90% of that comprising of speeding violations.