You know how driving during the holiday season is pretty stressful? Well, take note because the speed limits are lowered by an extra 10km/h!
All federal and state roads will have the speed limits reduced in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration. It is part of the Ops Bersepadu operations, the Star reported.
Yep, that’s right. If the speed limit is usually 80km/h, it will now be 70km/h during the holidays.
This operation will start from January 21 until February 5, 2017. Heavy vehicles will also be stopped from using highways on January 26, 27, 31, and February 1.
The Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai told the press during a safety campaign in Sunway Pyramid,
“In 2016 alone, the number of fatalities due to accidents had risen sharply to over 7,000 deaths.
“This is very worrying. Statistics will remain statistics if we all don’t do our part to reduce the number of accidents.”
Apparently, accident cases rose from 489,606 cases in 2015 to 521,446 cases in 2016.
“The number of deaths rose to 7,152 deaths in 2016 compared to 6,706 two years ago.”
Liow added that this horrific number should make people realize the importance of safety. He said,
“The realities of the figures should be an eye-opener to everyone to adopt a safe and careful attitude when on the road.”
The minister added that the Automated Awareness Safety System (Awas) will be enforced in April. The Awas system is a mix of both the Automated Enforcement System (AES) and the Kejara Demerit Point System.
Liow believed that this new system will educate road users more and ensure they follow the law properly.
However, the authorities plan on using the Awas system during the Ops Bersepadu on a trial run.
Source: The Star
So watch out peeps! There will be loads of speed traps everywhere!
But then again, it is better to simply avoid speeding at all when you balik kampung this festive season.
Remember, the safety of your passengers and yourself is extremely important. You don’t want your loved ones to celebrate Chinese New Year in dampened spirits right?
