Govt to ban sale of dummy buckles over road safety concern

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said its ministry with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) will hold discussions on the banning of seat belt buckle disablers or ‘dummy buckles’.

Anthony said, the discussion is to evaluate and improve the enforcement capabilities of relevant ministries.

“The use of these dummy buckles should not be allowed. However, enforcement (to curb the sale of dummy buckles) does not fall under the MOT but instead is under the KPDN. We know most new vehicles nowadays have sensors (detectors), so if you don’t wear a seat belt, there will be a sound.

“So, it violates the regulations...because placing the ‘dummy buckle’ means not using the seatbelt,” he said as quoted from MalayMail.

Before this, Negeri Sembilan Road Transport Department (RTD) director Hanif Yusabra Yusuf mentioned that the most common offence recorded during the recent Special Chinese New Year Operation was failure to wear seat belts, with 195 violations identified. Shockingly, they found over 30% of these cases involved the use of dummy buckles, and it had become a concerning trend.