KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 ― The Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) hopes to prevent further bike fatalities and accidents by banning teenagers from cycling on certain roads at night.
City mayor A Rahim Nin said MBJB will write to the Transport Ministry to authorise the restriction as reckless teen cyclists persisted in racing on their illegally modified bikes on certain roads, The Star Online reported today.
“Under the Road Transport Act 1987, bicycles are categorised as a type of vehicle and as such, bicycles are subjected to traffic laws under the Act.
“Based on this, MBJB through its Law Department, will submit an application to the Transport Ministry to confer the council the power to disallow vehicles from utilising certain roads at certain times.
“In this context, we will restrict cycling activities by children or teenagers under the age of 18 years at night,” he was quoted saying during a council meeting in Johor Baru.
Eight teenagers were killed when a car rammed into them near a sloped road beside the Johor capital’s Mahmoodiah Muslim Cemetery in the early hours of February 18.
The teens were among a large group taking part in an illegal bike race using modified two-wheelers dubbed “lajak”; some even had their brakes removed.
The “Mat Lajak” problem is not confined to Johor Baru. Last month, police caught 40 boys aged between nine and 17 at a public recreational park in Pasir Gudang, Johor with illegally modified bikes.
Police issued 29 traffic summonses to the riders for modifying their bikes and confiscated the vehicles.
