A total of 82,054 summonses have been issued by the Road Transport Department (RTD) through the Automated Awareness Safety System (Awas) in the first three months since its introduction this year. Stock photo by Ramdzan Masiam

KUALA BERANG: A total of 82,054 summonses have been issued by the Road Transport Department (RTD) through the Automated Awareness Safety System (Awas) in the first three months since its introduction this year.

Its deputy director-general (management) Datuk Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman said 72,806 of the summonses were for speeding and 9,248 for beating the traffic lights.

He said that 6,535 of the summonses had been settled by the vehicle owners.

"All these offences were recorded within a period of three months, from April 15 to June 19 this year involving fines totalling RM976,200, from the Awas system nationwide," he told reporters after launching Ops Selamat at the Ajil Toll Plaza here, yesterday.

He said a total of 21 AES cameras have been installed so far throughout the country, including seven that were fixed during this festive period at places prone to frequent fatal accidents.

He said two of them were installed on the East Coast Highway 2 (LPT 2) at Km256.1 near Cheneh and at Km288.6 near Chukai.

Wan Ahmad Uzir said the department would not tolerate those who committed traffic offences such beating red lights, using mobile phones while driving, speeding, using emergency lanes, and not wearing seat belts.

"During this festive period, a maximum fine of RM300 will be imposed for these offences, whereas it is RM150 during the off-season.

"We have given early warning by putting up signs to provide awareness to motorists so that they are more careful, especially in accident-prone areas. If they still fail to comply with the speed limits set, they are deliberately seeking trouble," he said.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, Wan Ahmad Uzir said 231 accident hot spots had been identified throughout the country for this festive season. He said that Johor had the highest number of hot spots with 36, and Batu Pahat recorded the most number of accidents. -- BERNAMA

Resource : NST Online