Naming and shaming lorry, bus companies will make them pay saman but won’t eliminate fatal accidents

Heavy vehicle owners have commended the transport ministry and road transport department’s (JPJ) decision to publish the names of lorry-owning companies and express bus operators with the highest number of unpaid traffic summonses, according to The Star. They added, however, that more needs to be done to reduce fatal accidents like the spate of those that have cropped up recently.

Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Lorry Owners Association secre­ta­ry-general Alvin Choong said minister Anthony Loke’s expose yesterday will prompt lorry operators to settle their fines and comply with the law. “Companies will toe the line, as they are responsible for the misconduct of their drivers,” he told the publication. “This is stipulated in the transport ordinance Land Public Transport Act 2010 (APAD) Act. The summonses should not be discounted, as that would then defeat the very purpose [of naming and shaming].”

However, Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association Mohamad Ashfar Ali said that while companies do bear the responsibility for some technical issues (such as faulty brakes, worn-out tyres and vehicles operating without insurance), many traffic-related offences, especially those involving express buses, have been caused by individual drivers rather than the operators.

“As operators, we can train, advise and guide our drivers, but once they are on the road, it’s out of our hands. If they break the law and the company reprimands the drivers, they just leave for another company,” he said, adding that despite having taken all possible preventative measures, express bus companies still receive summonses for speeding and other violations committed by their drivers.

Mohamad Ashfar said that the government should instead implement a driver card system to track driver movements between companies so that they know which drivers to weed out. “These proposals have been on the table for over 10 years,” he added. “If the ministry is serious about reducing accidents, they must introduce a proper system to track, monitor and regulate drivers. Only then will we see lasting change.”

Another measure being suggested by Mohamad Ashfar is the extension of the allocation of free training slots for B40 individuals seeking to obtain an E-class driving licence. “We are facing a shortfall of at least 5,000 drivers annually across the transport sector, from buses to lorries, charter services and factory and school buses. We have appealed to the Human Resources Ministry for support but received no response.

“These three measures – free trai­ning for aspiring drivers, the introduction of a driver card and a comprehensive data registry – must go hand in hand. That’s the only way we’ll see drivers slow down and accidents go down,” he said.

Another lorry operator who declined to be named said that there was no point in creating new ideas and laws to rein in heavy vehicle companies and drivers without enforcement on the ground. “If your enforcement is no good and there are loopholes, that would defeat the very purpose of having such ideas and laws in the first place,” they said. “Road safety is the responsibility of all stakeholders, including the government. It takes two to tango, and when one fails in its part, that is when the safety issues occur.”

Others say that broadcasting companies with overdue summonses is not the solution for fatal accidents, as these firms tend to be unaware of the fines racked up. “For lorry drivers, the summonses are issued on the road to the reckless drivers, who will then throw them away,” said Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Trucking Association president Wong Kean Ki. “We will only come to know of the mass of summons accumulated when we are renewing the road tax. By then, the reckless lorry driver may have left the company.”

He added that the pool of licenced lorry drivers is limited and while companies have tried to discipline their drivers and filter them before they are hired, they still end up with reckless drivers. “While naming and shaming heavy vehicle companies with accumulated traffic summonses may be the minister’s way, for us it just means we have to quickly find ways to pay them. And to pay these summonses, we have to operate our lorries. To operate our lorries, we need ­drivers.

“Putting the brakes on our lorries will mean there is no income, which means we would not be able to pay the summonses. In the end, no one wins. It’s a terrible cycle of factors and issues which cannot be solved by merely naming and shaming hea­vy vehicle operators,” he continued.

Lastly, Malaysia Trucking Federation president Ng Koong Sinn said a better and more holistic education system is needed to tackle recklessness on the roads. “It must begin in schools. Even lorry drivers would have to go through our education system when they are young,” he said. “Our education system must inculcate road safety and civic-mindedness in their lessons. Only then can we address the issues of road bullying and reckless driving, as people have to be trained from young to be civic-minded.”

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