[UPDATED] Immediate licence suspension for commercial drivers in accidents

New Straits Times

16 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR: The Road Transport Department (RTD) has decided to immediately suspend the vocational licence of commercial vehicle drivers involved in road accidents, pending police investigations.
Its director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli said that if drivers were found guilty or issued a notice for violating any provision under the Road Transport Act 1987, their vocational licences would be revoked in accordance with Section 56(4)(b) of the same Act.
"As soon as an accident occurs and as soon as we receive a preliminary report from the police involving a bus or lorry driver, we will immediately suspend that driver's vocational licence.
"Later, if police investigations find that the driver is not at fault, we will rescind the suspension.
"However, if the driver is found to be at fault, we will take further action in accordance with the law, such as cancelling the driver's license, revoking permits and so on," he said after the MyLesen B2 licence presentation ceremony here today.
Vocational licences comprised the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence for passenger vehicles and Goods Driving Licence (GDL) for goods vehicles.
Aedy said suspension of vocational licences had begun, starting with the lorry driver involved in a fatal accident involving nine members of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) on May 13.
"As of today, we have suspended five," he said, adding that this included the bus driver involved in the accident that killed 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students.
To ensure that commercial vehicle drivers remained competent, Aedy said the RTD would require all drivers involved in accidents, even if not guilty, to pass a refresher course before their vocational licence could be reactivated or removed from the suspension list.
"All drivers will also be subject to a fee to cover the cost of the training programme."
He said the refresher course will cover re-education on driving competency, including road regulations, safe driving practices, mindset change and safe vehicle handling.
"RTD will also set the duration of the programme, which must be successfully completed by the individual involved," he said, adding that further details on the programme will be announced in the near future.
Aedy said the move was part of improvement efforts aimed at ensuring that all commercial vehicle drivers complied with road regulations, besides driving responsibly and safely on public roads.
"Previously, such measures were not implemented. However, we are now taking a more decisive approach.
"I would like to remind all operators, including bus and lorry companies, as well as those involved in goods and public transport services, to ensure that their drivers adhere to all regulations and responsibilities entrusted to them."
Meanwhile, regarding the enforcement of seatbelt use among bus drivers and passengers, Aedy said up to yesterday, a total of 510 summonses had been issued.
Of that total, 80 summonses were issued to drivers, 396 to bus attendants and passengers, 26 to backseat passengers, and eight to bus companies for not installing seat belts.
Starting July 1, it became mandatory for all drivers and passengers of express and tour buses, manufactured after January 2020, to wear seat belts.
For buses built before 2020, operators would be given a grace period to install seat belts.