Stop Giving Discounts For Traffic Summonses - Road Safety Experts

Two road safety experts have urged the government to stop offering discounts for traffic summonses, claiming that it is counterintuitive and will only encourage drivers to disregard traffic laws. The culture of offering discounts for summonses, according to Law Teik Hua of Universiti Putra Malaysia's road safety research centre, has ‘diluted’ the impact of law enforcement. According to the law, the government sees summonses as a way to generate revenue rather than punishment for those who violate traffic laws. However, he stated that summonses were intended to be harsh on offenders in order to deter them from breaking the law. He believes that the current demerit system should be expanded to discourage traffic violations. Hua went on to say that the pain of having one's driver's licence suspended or even revoked would be a good deterrent to committing traffic violations.

Tengku Ahmad Marwan Tengku Mahmud, a road safety affiliate with the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), stated that developed countries do not offer traffic ticket discounts. He agreed with Law that the demerit system needed to be enforced more strictly, claiming that it was ineffective. It all came down to the authorities' willpower in the end. On April 18, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced a one-month special discount for police traffic summonses, with a flat rate of RM50 for offences committed before 2023.

The police and JPJ frequently offer discounts on traffic tickets, especially near the end of the year. In conjunction with Police Day, the police department offered a 60% discount on all traffic summonses from March 20 to March 31. JPJ also provided 80% off summonses for two weeks in December 2021.