Majority Of Malaysians Still Not Aware Of Proper Highway Emergency Lane Use, Says LLM

The Malaysian Highway Authority says that the degree to which Malaysians are aware of the proper use and practice of highway emergency lanes remains at a low. 

LLM’s director-general, Datuk Ismail Md. Salleh says that despite the said gap in road users being educated about its function and etiquette, he insisted that all road users were required to adhere to specific standard operating procedures (SOP).

He advised against the use of the lane to avoid long queues or to impugn the conventional flow of traffic lest there be some untoward accidents, writes Bernama.

"The emergency lanes are meant for vehicles that have break down on a highway and users should not stop their vehicles there. Unfortunately, I have seen several road accidents happening due to the misuse of the emergency lane lately,"

Datuk Ismail was commenting on this while on the subject of the recent accident that killed six family members after their car skidded and collided with a parked trailer on the emergency lane at KM258.8 of the East Coast Expressway 2 (LPT2), near Kemaman on October 14^th.

"It is understood that before the incident, a patrol unit had just passed through the scene and found no vehicles had stopped there," he said.

Another roadside tragedy occurred a few days later on October 17^th, when a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) army personnel was killed after his vehicle crashed into the rear of a parked lorry on the emergency lane at KM66.3 of the North-South Expressway.

Commenting further, Ismail said apart from providing space for vehicles that break down, emergency lanes are also meant for use by authorities like police, the Fire and Rescue Department and ambulance during emergency situations on highways.