Mohamat Johari Mat Nor
KUCHING: There will be a total ban on certain heavy vehicles for four days this coming Chinese New Year.
According to State Road Transport Department (JPJ) enforcement chief Mohamat Johari Mat Nor, the ban would be enforced on Feb 6, 7,13 and 14.
“Total ban will be imposed on certain heavy vehicles, meaning they are not allowed on the road at any time during these four days. This is to ensure they do not interfere with the busy festive traffic flow and to reduce the probability of accidents involving heavy vehicles,” he told a press conference at State JPJ office yesterday.
The type of heavy vehicles affected are low loader lorries, timber lorries, concrete mixer trucks, tippers and those that carry construction materials, such as cement, metal, steel, rocks, sand and soil.
Also in the list are car carriers, lorries carrying minerals, tractors, and tow trucks, except those involve in emergencies.
Mohamat Johari said JPJ Sarawak had met with the relevant lorry associations and the members were willing to cooperate. He hoped non-members of the associations would take note of the total ban and comply.
Other heavy vehicles that are allowed to operate at limited timeframe on these four days are container or cargo lorries carrying electrical or electronic goods, which are allowed to operate from 6am to midnight, and mobile cranes, which are allowed to operate from 6am to 6pm.
Heavy vehicles that are exempted from the ban are lorries carrying medical or chemical goods; container or cargo lorries carrying goods from the port or airport to industrial areas; lorries carrying daily necessities such as food, fresh produce, newspapers and so on; garbage or industrial waste trucks; petrol and gas tankers; rescue operations vehicles and courier or postal services lorries.
The effort forms part of the department’s Chinese New Year operations (Ops TBC) 2016, which started yesterday (Feb 1) and would end on Feb 16.
Mohamat Johari added that JPJ would employ a few strategies as part of the enforcement efforts this festive season.
“We will continue to focus on express bus drivers, ensuring that they abide by the law. Every day, we will have our enforcement teams at major bus terminals working closely with other agencies, like National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK), to make sure bus drivers are free from drug or alcohol influence.
“In addition, we want to make sure that for journeys of more than four hours or 300km, there will be a second bus driver.”
Besides that, there would be undercover officers posing as express bus passengers to monitor drivers.
Mohamat Johari also explained there would be officers patrolling major roads in the state, but there will not be any road block.
“Our officers will patrol the roads, and some undercover ones will take photos of road users who fail to follow the rules, such as using handphone while driving and not using seatbelts.
“However, there will be a road block on Feb 2, 6, 12 and 14, in a nationwide operation known as Ops Khas Motosikal, where the focus is on motorcyclists. We will check their licence, road tax. AADK will conduct urine test. This operation will start from 8pm to midnight.”
The maximum compound rate on offences during the duration of Ops TBC 2016 will be RM300.
The two-week operation involves 103 JPJ personnel throughout the state.