Fatal Lorry Crash Hold Company Owner Accountable Dpm

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Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi drew attention to the responsibility of the company that owned the lorry involved in a fatal crash in Teluk Intan, Perak, today.
He said preliminary investigations revealed that the lorry suffered a malfunction that caused its steering system to fail.
“This should not have happened if the vehicle had undergone a Puspakom inspection.
“We should not only place the responsibility on the lorry driver, but the company owner must also be held accountable,” Zahid said.
He was speaking at a press conference after chairing the Cabinet Committee Meeting on Road Safety and Traffic Congestion in Putrajaya today.
At 8.50am today, nine FRU personnel from the Unit 5 base in Ipoh were killed and others injured after the truck they were travelling in collided with a lorry carrying stones on Jalan Chikus–Sungai Lampam.
The personnel were returning from duty in conjunction with the Chitirai Pournami celebration.
Reducing accidents, traffic congestion
Zahid said the government would immediately install street lights along several highway stretches identified as fatal accident blackspots.
He said the matter was agreed upon at today’s committee meeting.
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid HamidiIn addition, he said the committee also agreed that drastic measures should be taken to reduce traffic congestion in Malaysia caused by the high number of vehicles.
“The fact we are facing is that Malaysia has 34.1 million residents but 38.7 million vehicles... this means the number of vehicles exceeds the number of residents, and this may have contributed to road congestion and road accidents,” he said.
Zahid said among the measures to be taken was the addition of dedicated bus lanes in the Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Johor Bahru.
“This addition of bus lanes will not only encourage the use of public transport but will also reduce the number of vehicles passing through congested areas,” he said.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said his ministry will set up a special task force to investigate the fatal accident.
The task force will comprise experts and independent members who will examine the incident and recommend safety improvements.
“The task force will be set up very soon,” he told a press conference after the committee meeting today.
- Bernama

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