Telok gong: The Road Transport Department (JPJ) has issued a total of 1,194 summonses to bus drivers and passengers nationwide under the Special Operation on Seat Belt Usage which began on July 1. JPJ Director-General Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli reported that of the total, 1,108 summonses were issued to passengers, 62 to drivers, and 24 cases involved the failure to install seat belts.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Aedy Fadly highlighted that some of the reasons provided for not wearing seat belts included unawareness of the mandatory rule and that enforcement had already been gazetted. He dismissed these excuses, stating that checks revealed most bus operators and drivers had made announcements or displayed notices reminding passengers to wear seat belts.

Aedy Fadly also stated that tourists or non-citizens would not be exempted from action under existing provisions if found not wearing seat belts on buses. Despite the challenges, he noted an overall improvement in compliance with seat belt usage on express and tour buses, attributing it to proactive measures by bus operators to remind passengers.

‘Overall, we are seeing an increase in compliance, and passengers are beginning to better understand the importance of wearing seat belts,’ he added during a press conference at the Pioneer Coachbuilder Sdn Bhd bus body manufacturing plant in Telok Gong.