AES cameras at 11 new sites

PLUS to install and fund system on NSE’s accident-prone areas

PETALING JAYA: The Menora Tunnel is one of the 11 new locations earmarked for the Automated Awareness Safety System cameras to improve road safety, says Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar.

The Deputy Transport Minister said these cameras would be installed at accident-prone stretches along the North-South Expressway and funded by PLUS Malaysia Berhad.

“The remaining 10 locations are still being studied by PLUS and the relevant authorities.”

These 11 new cameras are additions to the existing 19 cameras operating along the expressway.

“Enforcement will still be done by the JPJ (Road Transport Department),” Kamarudin told reporters after witnessing the handing over of 10 Honda CRV cars to the JPJ yesterday.

The 800m tunnel in Perak is one of the sites with a high rate of accidents.

On March 24, two trailer lorries caught fire following a collision, while five family members, including a baby, were burnt to death when a trailer rammed their car on Oct 6 last year.

Kamarudin urged other highway operators to follow the initiative by PLUS in increasing safety on the highways to help reduce accidents and fatalities.

He said there was a 7% drop in road accidents nationwide during the first quarter of this year.

For the first three months last year, there were 4,338 accidents but that dropped to 4,037 cases

Kamarudin also said that apart from road safety, his ministry and JPJ were also focused on awareness campaigns to highlight the importance of child restraint seats.

“We will launch more advocacy campaigns throughout the year,” he added.

PLUS managing director Datuk Azman Ismail said an initial sum of RM3mil to install the 11 cameras would be absorbed by the firm.

He said that in addition, PLUS would also foot the bill to calibrate the devices once every few months, to run tests and ensure the cameras are operating effectively.”

Based on our studies, the presence of cameras is very effective to curb drivers from speeding.

Our focus is to reduce the number of accidents,” he added.

Earlier, PLUS handed over the cars, worth RM1.3mil, to the JPJ to carry out enforcement and monitoring activities on the highways.

The PLUS-JPJ collaboration, other enforcement agencies and PLUS road safety initiatives saw a significant drop in the number of road accidents along the expressway.

In 2016, a total of 14,532 accidents were reported but the number dropped to13,269 last year.