NOVEMBER 3 — About 1,500 personnel would be involved in a nation-wide crackdown against motorists of vehicles with fancy number plates, running strobe lights and unapproved high intensity discharge (HID) headlamps jointly conducted by the Road Transport Department (JPJ), the traffic police and the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD). Mandatory summonses will be immediately issued and no discount will be given. The operation had been announced at end of September and the JPJ finally RESORTS to action.

The crackdown is necessary as many vehicles owners have installed running strobe lights and unapproved HIP headlamps and flashed frequently to attract attention, endangering other road users. The situation has turned worse and it is time to warn and punish violators.

Taking actions against motorists with fancy plates also help the police to effectively combat crimes, as plates with small or fancy numbers will make it hard for the police to read and might thus let criminals flee. According to regulations, there are clear and stringent requirements for the size of letters on number plates, including height, width and distance between letters.

However, it should not be too rigid over the established specifications. It should be acceptable as long as it meets certain criteria. It would be too picky if it is considered a violation if the distance between letters is found less than 1cm.

To be fair, the JPJ has given enough time for motorists to replace their fancy number plates and unapproved HID headlamps, and those who refuse to make replacement will face severe punishment. Motorists are required to uninstall their fancy number plates and unapproved HID headlamps before paying fines and they will be brought to court if they refuse to pay fine, the worst case could lead them to face imprisonment.

Although the JPJ has taken tough actions, many motorists are still taking the wait and see attitude or having the chance taking mindset, believing that they would not be the unlucky ones to be caught. Even if they have been issued a summons, they still think that the authorities will eventually allow a grace period or even cancel the enforcement action. Flip-flop policies of the JPJ and police in the past should be blamed for such speculative mindset.

The JPJ and traffic police should improve the public’s negative impression on them. In addition to always taking actions against vehicles violating rules, they must also implement all announced crackdown plans. Before a crackdown operation is announced, they must have a detailed plan and after the enforcement date is announced, they should not simply change or postpone it. For instance, the police announced crackdown against substandard tinted glasses in May, while Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi instead that enforcement must be started on June 16 as scheduled, but it was later postponed to November and summonses would only be issued starting December. Eventually, it was further postponed to May 1 next year. Such fickle attitude is the factor causing the people to have speculative mentality.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.