PUTRAJAYA, Jan 22 — The federal government said today it has agreed in principle to a proposal by motoring enthusiasts to impose prerequisites for the automatic upgrade of the B2 class motorcycle licence to a full B.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the prerequisites were discussed and decided during an engagement session involving representatives of the country’s motorcycle associations he chaired earlier.
The two prerequisites, he said, involved imposing a minimum age and licence holding period thresholds for automatic upgrade.
“Age-wise, the applicant must be aged 35 years and above; and the second the B2 licence holder must hold it for a stipulated period before they are eligible for a full B.
“As for the timeframe, I will leave it to the transport minister to determine that,” he told reporters after chairing a high level committee meeting on Traffic Safety and Congestion at the Transport Ministry here.
Ahmad Zahid added that the matter will be finalised when the Road Transport Department (RTD) and police traffic department meet.
The RTD classifies class B2 as licences for motorcycles below 250cc while class B involves motorcycles above 500 cc.
Welcoming the prerequisite proposal, Ahmad Zahid said it was timely as statistics from the police revealed fatal crashes involving motorcycles have gone up by 10 per cent this year as compared to the previous year.
“Thus today’s engagement session is aimed at obtaining feedbacks, suggestions and opinions on various issues pertaining to road safety from fellow motoring enthusiasts,” he said.
Last August, Ahmad Zahid said he was confident in the blanket automatic upgrade proposal’s implementation, citing the experience of motorcyclists with B2 licences in riding the machines.
But the proposal as received backlashes over the potential dangers posed to road users by motorcyclists unfamiliar with the differences in motorcycle engine volume or cubic capacity (cc).
