The Road Transport Department (JPJ) is stepping up its safety enforcement, focusing on a rule many passengers seem to forget: wearing a seatbelt on buses and lorries.
Since launching its latest operation on 1 July, JPJ has inspected more than 28,000 vehicles, including long-distance buses, tour buses, and lorries. In just two weeks, officers have issued 883 summonses for seatbelt-related offences, most of them to passengers.
Photo via Paul Tan's Automotive News
According to data reported by Utusan Malaysia, the breakdown of offences includes:
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619 passengers on long-distance buses,
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92 passengers on tour buses,
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28 long-distance bus drivers,
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14 tour bus drivers,
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110 lorry drivers,
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10 lorry attendants,
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and 10 cases where buses didn’t have seatbelts installed at all.
The operation is conducted under Section 59 of the Road Transport Act 1987, which grants JPJ the authority to take action against commercial vehicles failing to meet basic safety standards.
JPJ director-general Datuk Rospiagus Taha stressed that buckling up is not just a personal choice but a legal requirement, even on public transport, “Passengers must understand that wearing a seatbelt is a shared responsibility. It can be the difference between life and death,” he said.
So far, JPJ officers have inspected 4,490 long-distance buses, 1,789 tour buses, and 22,030 lorries.
With enforcement in full swing, JPJ hopes more passengers will start taking road safety seriously — whether behind the wheel or sitting in the backseat.
