RTD enforcement sneaks past ‘tonto’ moles

BUTTERWORTH, 12 July 2019: 

A new enforcement strategy used by the Penang Road Transport Department (FTD) has proven successful when 398 vehicles including tipper dumper lorries were found to have committed various offences under the ‘Ops Lebih Muatan’ conducted in the state from June 21 until yesterday.

State RTD director Mohamat Johari Mat Nor said the strategy – which included a surveillance unit – was more effective in tracking down lorries which were overloaded, compared to previous efforts often hampered by ‘tontos’ planted in the RTD offices.

“Our operations were often hampered by tontos who were planted in the RTD offices night and day, so the Penang RTD decided to adopt new approaches like using an surveillance unit to conduct initial monitoring before informing the enforcement unit to take action.

“Our members (of the surveillance unit) whom they (the tonto) do not know will monitor the movement of the overloaded lorries so that enforcement can then be carried out,” he said after the ‘Ops Lebih Muatan’ here last night.

He added that part of the operations included RTD patrols along the highways and main roads to track down overloaded lorries.

Mohamat Johari said under the operations, the RTD inspected 678 commercial vehicles with heavy loads and issued 791 summons to the lorry drivers who committed various offences under the Road Transport Act 1987.

He added that 271 summons were for overloading, 35 for dangerous loading, 110 for driving without a licence, 12 for driving with an expired licence, 359 for technical offences and four for major offences.

“The operations this time focused on tipper dumper lorries which abused the approval for added walls to transport agriculture loads,” he said, adding that the drivers who flouted the law caused damage to the road structure and posed a risk to other motorists.

Mohamat Johari said RTD had obtained lighter portable weighing machines which were brought to the locations to facilitate enforcement work on commercial vehicles including overloaded lorries.

– Bernama