RTD: Modification of vehicles can lead to road accidents

SOME vehicle owners who have a passion for modifying their vehicles are willing to disregard the law, despite being aware of the dangers it can cause, including road accidents.

Kuala Lumpur Road Transport Department (JPJ) director Mohd Zaki Ismail said there are reasons for the regulations imposed, especially for the safety of road users.

“For example, the use of High Intensity Discharged lights can cause temporary blindness and this can lead to accidents,” he told a press conference after leading an integrated operation at Jalan Cheras near the Taman Mutiara Mass Rapid Transit Station here early yesterday.

The operation started at 9pm on Friday and ended around midnight.

Zaki said the enforcement action taken against such vehicle owners was a last resort to ensure the safety of road users.

During the operation, Zaki said 1,750 vehicles were inspected, with action taken against 197 of them for various offences.

He said 365 notices were issued to the errant motorists, mostly for not having a valid driving licence (170 notices) followed by using “fancy” registration number plates (76 notices) and not having valid road tax (67 notices).

A total of 245 vehicles were inspected by the Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) and 47 notices were issued, while the Department of Environment (DoE) inspected 53 vehicles and took action against 11 of them.

During the operation, 28 individuals were instructed to undergo urine tests, with 10 of them testing positive for methamphetamine and cannabis.

Two Myanmar nationals were also detained for not having valid travel documents in the operation, which involved 133 personnel from the JPJ, JSPT, Immigration Department, National Anti-Drug Agency, DoE and Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre.