Lorry transit centres plan to reduce road mishaps

DAILY EXPRESS NEWS 24th July, 2007
Kota Kinabalu: Several one-stop transit centres for lorries may be set up along the roads between Kota Kinabalu-Sandakan and Sandakan-Tawau to reduce frequent accidents involving lorries.
Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) Chairman, Datuk Bung Moktar Radin, said he would write to the Transport Minister to set up several such one-stop centres along Kota Kinabalu-Sandakan.
At least another one will also be requested between Sandakan and Tawau, he said after chairing a meeting with the Sabah Lorries Association at the CVLB office, Monday.
"I see the lorry transportation industry as contributing to the nation's economy and I will write to the Transport Minister. These centres will enable the drivers to park their lorries at safer areas and rest a while, before continuing with their long journey," he said.
Bung said CVLB would also ask for a similar centre to be set up within the city area specially for lorries coming from Sarawak and Brunei. This centre would be used for unloading of goods.
The association assured its full cooperation to CVLB in solving the problem of lorries parked along roadsides, including in the housing areas here and in other major districts which pose danger to other road users.
According to the traffic police there have been frequent accidents, even deaths, involving lorries parked along the roadsides, he said.
This is actually a traffic offence for obstructing traffic flow as well as under the licensing requirements of the CVLB which require a lorry driver to declare he/she has a depot when applying for a licence, he added. Offenders can be fined RM300 per offence.
However, it was noted that CVLB Sabah now has 10 enforcement personnel which is not enough to check all the housing estates and others, Bung said.
CVLB, therefore, depends greatly on the public's cooperation to inform them or the Road Transport Department (RTD) or traffic police immediately if they spot lorries still parked along the roadsides or in housing estates.
Tanker lorries cannot be left parked along the roadside particularly in housing estates, because it is dangerous. "Contact us and we will go there and issue a mandatory compound of RM300," said Bung.
Tanker lorries cannot be left parked along the roadside particularly in housing estates, because it is dangerous. "Contact us and we will go there and issue a mandatory compound of RM300," said Bung.
Bung said the association also agreed, in principle, to set up a lorry driving school to train bumiputera school leavers who fail to pursue further studies.
"Through this proposed school they will learn to become professional lorry drivers who get a good income from the profession. We hope to see a situation like in the developed countries where the lorry drivers are very proud and not ashamed of their job because they are so professional and can get lucrative incomes through it," he said.
Bung said Sabah is presently still short of container lorries and drivers. "For example at the Kota Kinabalu Port presently we only issued 118 container lorry permits, which were not enough and has resulted in ordinary lorries with 'A' permits being used in the port area for transporting containers.
"This is actually against the CVLB and traffic regulations as it is a falsification of declaration document (for which one) can be charged in court and fined between RM1,000-RM1,2000 if found guilty," he said.
On the association's request for the lorry load weight limit in Sabah to be standardised to between 38 and 44 tonnes as is presently implemented in the peninsula, Bung said CVLB Sabah is still waiting for feedback from the Public Works Department (PWD) Sabah to give clarification on which roads in Sabah can support weights of over 40 tonnes and so on.
"The road condition in Sabah is different from that in the peninsula É in Sabah it is not that our road surface is not up to standard but we still have many 'kampung' roads," he said.