Should Motorcyclists Be Exempt From Highway Tolls

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Letter to Editor
The recent horrific accident on the North South Expressway which claimed the lives of four motorcyclists should have served as another wake up call to all of us, but did it?
Granted, drivers of cars, buses and other commercial vehicles are also guilty of driving recklessly and contributing to the frequent carnage on our highways, but they all pay tolls, while bikers seem to belong to a privileged group who are exempted. Why?
Like other vehicles, aren’t bikers also guilty of slowing down traffic flow, clogging highways and exacerbating traffic gridlock along some highways?
Frequently too, don’t some bikers put other innocent law-abiding drivers in danger by speeding and inconsiderately weaving in and out of traffic and cutting lanes?
Perhaps, they may believe their machines are light and easy to manoeuvre, and difficult to track down in the event they commit a traffic offence. In fact, could they also have gradually developed a sense of entitlement? 
It’s true, many bikers belong to the B40 group, and as such, the public tend to forgive and sympathise with them especially in the event of accidents, as they are obviously a vulnerable lot.
But is it not also true that many car owners, including those who are well off, have now turned to using bikes in order to beat the traffic snarls in some major highways so that they can reach their destinations faster, and at a cheaper cost? 
That being the case, is it too much to make them pay a nominal toll charge for sharing the highways with other toll-paying folks? 
In fact, why should riders of big bikes, including superbikes that cost more than say, a humble Perodua Axia, be exempted from paying toll? 
Isn’t that a gross injustice to the owners of smaller cars who may be more deserving? 
Moreover, isn’t it about time bikers also learned to queue up patiently at the toll gates, and pay their dues. 
Actually, wouldn’t it also indirectly put off some mat rempits from turning the highways into free racing tracks?
 In closing, surely most motorbike owners, including those who own superbikes, aren’t so poor that they can’t even afford to pay a nominal toll charge!
 As such, shouldn’t expressway concessionaires be fair to their “real customers.” 
Those who faithfully pay the toll charges, instead of those who don’t even contribute a single cent for the maintenance of the highways? 
Jeyakumar Joseph Sounderaj
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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