The dangers of driving on public roads are aplenty, but few come close to being as frightening as seeing a big truck approaching your rear-view mirror at speed, and not stopping. It has happened countless times, the most recent of which took place on the North–South Expressway (PLUS), near the Menora Tunnel in Jelapang, Perak.
Based on a dashcam recording that was uploaded to Facebook, a lorry (northbound; looks to be a 10-tonner) ploughed through what appears to be five vehicles, first hitting a bus. There was also a white SUV, a Perodua Myvi, an Axia, and another unidentified passenger car.
Thankfully, no casualties were reported, though passengers travelling in the bus – which absorbed the bulk of the impact – were likely to be flung out of their seats, injuring themselves in the process. This also serves as a reminder to fasten your seatbelts (it’s a good habit, really) no matter where you’re seated in a vehicle and what the mode of transport is.
According to the Facebook post, the lorry had malfunctioning brakes, and the incident actually took place on March 12, 2022. Motorists who frequent that particular stretch would know exactly how often an incident of this nature happens, and without regular maintenance, there’s little that can be done to prevent a ticking time bomb like this from going off.
If we refer to the checklist by the Road Transport Department (JPJ), a commercial vehicle (CV) is supposed to undergo a routine roadworthiness inspection of at least twice a year. This includes specific probes into the vehicle’s undercarriage, emissions, suspension, headlights and taillights, speedometer test, as well as brake test.
The brake test is one of the most important components of the periodic inspection. If a CV fails the test, it will be automatically blacklisted and the results will be sent to JPJ. The owner will have to rectify the issue and upon repair, obtain JPJ permission for re-inspection. Just so you know, other test failures aren’t referred back to the JPJ, just brake test failures.
Now, regardless of this lorry’s inspection records, it cannot be stressed enough that truck owners must adhere to the proper maintenance schedules. It’s a motor vehicle after all, and one that is used for heavy duty jobs on a daily basis.
Enforcement is another matter altogether. If not done stringently, compliance will naturally be low, because people will start to think that they can get away with it. We’re not saying the authorities aren’t doing their jobs, because we often see enforcement officers flagging down commercial vehicles on expressways.
Either way, we’re glad no one perished in this freak episode. Over the years, vehicle crashworthiness has improved greatly, but passenger vehicles just aren’t designed to be rear ended at speed. There isn’t much in the way of crumple zone at the back as there is up front, plus hatchbacks have significantly lesser leeway at the back to absorb impacts.
With the Hari Raya celebrations being just around the corner, let us remind you again to travel safely and always be mindful of your surroundings, especially for the Balik Kampung journey. Make sure your cars are serviced thoroughly, and if you could spare some change, get a dashcam as well.
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Before go to puspakom… rent a spare part. After pass, return back. Do test many time also no point. Must find foolproof solution.
Tentu bukan salah driver
Pasal halangan didepan
Yup. Malaysian logic dictates the lorry driver should not be at fault, it is the cars that are in the way they must be responsible for the accident.
What you just said hits the nail square on the head.
They just do what it takes to pass the test, but the trucks return to being a piece of junk when in operation.
If this is not fixed, the problem will forever be there!
According to Malaysian netizen logic, ini salah lorry driver punya parents and they must go to jail lorr.
whats the point of puspakom yearly test ?
The point of the test is to ensure the vehicles are in good condition (roadworthy). The onus is still with the owners of such vehicles to take care of the vehicle BECAUSE THEY CARE, not because they need to pass a test.
I am sure if you check the records, the vehicle would have passed. Whether they rented the parts to make them pass, we don’t know. But the practice exists.
Say at Puspakom inspection,brakes at 50-60 %,still boleh pass.But during the 12 months of non stop driving,especially lorries and buses,they can malfunction ,right?
In ang moh countries,they spot check inspection on the road, besides annual inspection.Cannot kaotim.You fail the test..you will be penalised.
Inspection is 6 monthly, but I get your point. Which is why the point is, Puspakom has a role. But the role of fleet operators, drivers themselves cannot be ignored as I stated earlier. As one Ooi Win Juat commented, they have to be learned as well.
puspakom can kawtim !!
I went to puspakom 2 weeks ago, witnessed the workers climbed into a crv.. With engine and aircond on.. One at driver seat play hp.. One lie / sleep at the rear. No inspection or anything last enjoy the aircond there for about 20 mins. Why owner not complaint? Well i think that guy is just a runner so not bother as well. That’s just one time there and I have witnessed such boleh thing. Imagine if u put a camera and record the day to day happenings, we may get many Guinness records.
Why did you not report it to PUSPAKOM? Or take evidence?
Because he is lyin mofo. Nobody except puspakom staff & JPJ officers are allowed into inspection area.
Errr, nobody is allowed into Puspakom inspection, not even my runners, so how did you “witness the workers climbed into a crv.. With engine and aircond on.. One at driver seat play hp.. One lie / sleep at the rear.”
Nak tipu pun agak2 lahh bro.
At one time,at Puspakom Setapak years ago…the press went undercover to see all the hankypanky…remember?
After the menteri conducted a “sting” operation to nab the culprits..you think they go by the book like Singapore,now?
Thats why used car dealers send runners to “sleep” there with these dudes.No hassle.
Dong Gor, our vehicle examiners use handphone to conduct inspection. They were not playing handphone as you claimed. Usually our vehicle examiners need to take pictures of the inspection items, then, they need to upload the pictures on our server, at times it may take some time to upload the pictures before the vehicle examiners can proceed to next inspection flow.
Brake failure? And how fast are these lorries driven?
Yes i would agreed that..maintenance and inspection is equally important. However the drivers play an important role when driving a heavy vehicle. Usually you need a retarder or exhaust brake to slow down the vehicle so that the brake would not be overuse and overheated. At such situation if solely depends on brake it will burn the brake lining and it will loose the braking system. As for such road situation the Driver must engage a lower gear so that then engine will helps to slow down the vehicle. An experience driver knows well
why dont they just steer their trucks to the left side of the highway? at least masuk longkang or whatever non occupied area available on the left. why must they hit everyone on the road. they have to sacrifice themselves 1st rather than other road users. we must have a some sort of law in PLUS hiway at least, heavy vehicle kena terjun sebelah kiri once brake failure occurred.
I always have my doubts that Puspakom did not check the commercial vehicle thoroughly and this confirms it. And yet, the government does nothing to address it.
The point of the test is to ensure the vehicles are in good condition (roadworthy). The onus is still with the owners of such vehicles to take care of the vehicle BECAUSE THEY CARE, not because they need to pass a test.
I am sure if you check the records, the vehicle would have passed. Whether they rented the parts to make them pass, we don’t know. But the practice exists.
Should be checked every week…
Corruption….
They should consider building a menora tunnel bypass from gopeng to current west coast expressway to changkat jering. The mountains after ipoh is way too steep for some lorries as they are underpowered due to high road tax and when downhill, some drivers just dunno how to use the low range gear to slow down the lorry which caused brakes to overheat and smoke.
All heavy vehicles should be ban from any hilly areas of plus highways
This year, my lorry failed 3 times because the bench behind the lorry, which has no issue for last ten years become an issue this year. Could not get a written specs from puspakom. My staff told me that we have to use runners which I do not approve. More than 10 years ago I made this complaint of using runners to Puspakom and their management did visit me. I had highlighted the danger that important test are not properly conducted due to corruption of tester. This issue must be urgently investigated and corruption eradicate.
Things change bro. Last year your brakes might have passed but this year might have failed cuz you never maintenance. is that puspakom fault? Is that corruption? Is that runner salah? This is typical Malaysian problem, salahkan lain tapi sendiri tak salah. Fix the problem, why need to kawtim you are just feeding the issue which you complaint about so why bother to complain here? Getting a truck to pass is not rocket science, just ensure maintenance are done properly before after and every other time not just during yearly puspakom inspection.
Its all about lack of enforcement and loads of corruption. malaysia boleh. Has anyone else notice there is hardly any road block to ‘check’ except when festives near….
When polis put up roadblock, complain about rasuah.
When polis dun put up roadblock, still complain about rasuah.
WTH wrong with you peeps?!