“Puspakom Must Review Procedures For Vehicle Checks” - Dr. Law Teik Hua

In light of recent crashes involving heavy vehicles, Puspakom Sdn Bhd must determine whether the methods and regulations for vehicle inspection are still valid.

The public and authorities have long ignored crashes involving big vehicles, according to Associate Professor Dr. Law Teik Hua, director of Universiti Putra Malaysia's Road Safety Research Center.

This is due to the lower frequency of collisions involving big vehicles than motorcycles.

"However, collisions involving heavy vehicles, especially with multiple vehicles, cause severe injuries," he told the New Sunday Times recently.

On July 7, a lorry crashed through backed-up traffic on the Johor Causeway, resulting in a 12-car pileup. Nobody was hurt.

The incident was caused by technical issues, and the driver had already received 39 summonses, according to investigations.

On April 29, a lorry collided with 11 vehicles at an intersection with traffic lights in Negri Sembilan's Jalan Persiaran Pusat Bandar Nilai. The collision was caused by the lorry's defective brakes, according to the police.

According to the law, Puspakom, the sole organisation in the country that checks on the functionality and conditions of commercial vehicles, must determine whether the rules and practises for existing vehicle inspections are still appropriate.

He also said that today's commercial vehicles, especially large vehicles, perform differently than they did in the past and operate and travel in various surroundings.

For instance, the brake system and tyres may be destroyed more quickly when big vehicles carry extra weight.

"Puspakom should evaluate the time between vehicle inspections in light of this. They should investigate this situation in conjunction with the Road Transport Department as well."

Law advised installing monitoring equipment to keep track of drivers by businesses or owners of big commercial vehicles as these can identify sleepy drivers. It is highly recommended that all heavy commercial vehicles have this kind of device.

Law emphasized that the authorities should also investigate the relationship between the adequacy of Puspakom vehicle inspections and crashes involving heavy vehicles.

"Data from road crashes and vehicle inspections should be combined.

"It can use this to find areas (in terms of vehicle inspection) that can be improved," he said, adding that Puspakom should issue stickers to vehicles that have been inspected.

"Puspakom should put the sticker on the windscreen, similar to the road tax sticker, after the vehicle has completed inspection.

"Vehicles on the road that have not been inspected may endanger public safety.

"Therefore, it is advised to have a highly visible display for public recognition”, he added.

He assured that the advantages of this idea are that the public will be alert and keep a safe distance from large, uninspected trucks.

Authorities will also be able to receive reports of violations from the general population, which will make enforcement easier.