SEREMBAN: The rising trend of vehicle owners using the dummy buckle to eliminate the seat belt alarm and not wearing seat belts properly is worrying.
Negeri Sembilan Road Transport Department (JPJ) director Hanif Yusabra Yusuf said the highest number of notices issued during the Special Chinese New Year Operation was for not wearing seat belts, with 195 offences recorded, of which over 30 per cent of them were found to be using the accessory, which resembles a real seat belt buckle.
“We found over 30 per cent of drivers prefer to wear the dummy buckle to silence the sound of the seatbelt reminder, and their excuse is that it (the seat belt) is uncomfortable or that they forgot... but that is a major offence because it can result in severe injury or death in the event of a road crash.
“The use of this accessory is seen to be widespread and becoming a trend these days and that is not a good sign and we need to pay immediate attention to this matter,” he told reporters after the special operation in conjunction with the Chinese New Year at the Senawang Toll Plaza that ended yesterday.
Hanif Yusabra also said that as a result of its officers going undercover by boarding 70 buses throughout the operation, JPJ found that there was an increased awareness of safety among bus drivers.
However, he said there were still drivers who committed offences while driving, including continuously driving on the right lane (31 cases); picking up and dropping off passengers at unauthorised stops (12 cases); no second driver (10 cases); using mobile phones (three cases); smoking (two cases); and not maintaining a log book (four cases).
He said inspections and audits of bus service operations compliance at the terminal resulted in action taken against 24 buses, with 38 notices issued for non-compliance with the Road Transport Act (APJ) 1967 and 12 notices under the Land Public Transport Act (APAD) 2010.
“In terms of conduct, we see that it is improving. There are also fewer cases of drivers smoking or using handphones while driving. But there are still some who disobey the rules,” he said.
