The Johor Trucking Association is urging the transport ministry to delay the enforcement of the speed limitation device (SLD) on heavy commercial vehicles, which is set to take effect on October 1, The Star reports.
Its president, Chai Pei Yoon, said enforcement should be postponed to next year due to unclear guidelines and cost concerns. “With less than two months to go until the October 1 enforcement date, we are unsure whether local suppliers have enough time to import the devices,” she said.
“There is also no standard operating procedure from the road transport department (JPJ) or appointed third-party installers at the moment, so operators may end up paying arbitrary installation fees,” she added.
Chai noted that many heavy vehicles in the country are over 10 years old and still use traditional diesel systems instead of an electronic control unit (ECU), which would require third-party installations. She added that European trucks, including second-hand or reconditioned ones, usually come with SLD installation certificates, whereas those from Japanese manufacturers do not.
“Local suppliers say they do not have the necessary certificates to install SLDs on Japanese trucks, which is another challenge for us. While we support the move to improve road safety and reduce fatal accidents involving heavy vehicles, we are struggling to meet the October 1 deadline,” she explained.
“We hope enforcement can be pushed to January 1, 2026 to ensure full compliance and prevent lorry operators from receiving summonses due to unclear guidelines,” she continued, adding that the association recently met with industry players and would request for a meeting with transport minister Anthony Loke to discuss the operators’ concerns and suggestions.
The SLD system, which is mandatory in countries like Singapore and those in Europe, was described by Loke in parliament on July 29 as a necessary step in controlling the speed of heavy vehicles and reducing the risk of fatal accidents, especially involving buses and lorries. Phase 1 of SLD enforcement that takes effect from October 1 this year and will involve verification of SLD functionality for all commercial vehicles manufactured after January 1, 2015.
Phase 2 takes effect on January 1, 2026, and involves the activation of the SLD within the ECU for commercial vehicles built before January 1, 2015. Phase 3 will require the retrofit installation of SLDs, with approval from the JPJ from July 1, 2026 on any commercial vehicles not already equipped with the system.
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