THE use of the child restraint system (CRS) will be monitored by the authorities throughout road safety operations in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said although no compound notices have been issued since the law came into effect on January 1, road users should be made aware of the importance of CRS.

“Monitoring will be carried out by the Road Transport Department and the Road Safety Department as we want to raise awareness.

“The CRS policy will only be effective if road users have a sense of awareness,” he said after opening the East Coast Highway (LPT) Road Safety and Chinese New Year celebration at the west-bound Bentong R&R today.

Present were Anih Bhd executive director Nik Fauzi Nik Hussein, Bentong MP Wong Tack and Works Ministry secretary-general Syed Omar Sharifuddin Syed Ikhsan.

Loke said enforcement of CRS use on private vehicles has to be taken to ensure the safety of infants and children due to alarming fatalities among them.

“A total of 1,559 deaths were recorded involving children under the age of 10 from 2007 to 2017. Support from the people and media is crucial in helping the government implement the CRS policy effectively,” he said.

On another note, Loke said he welcomed the response of various parties to the public inspection of the East Coast Rail Link’s (ECRL) Klang-Mentakab alignment, or Section C, which has been on display since January 14 by the Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL).

Meanwhile, Fauzi said he expected consumers to refer to the suggested travel time advisory issued by PLUS Malaysia Bhd as daily traffic on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway and LPT 1 is expected to increase by 60% during the CNY period. This means 250,000 vehicles will be on the road compared with 156,000 on normal days.

“We will ensure that all assets are ready for the traffic increase, including the use of drones, to monitor traffic movement from the air as well as increasing patrolling and deployment of more than 550 toll and traffic personnel,” he said.

Fauzi said Anih is offering a 10% toll discount to private or class one vehicle users on January 25 on the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway and from midnight to 11.59pm on the LPT 1, he said.

At the event, Anih also launched a road safety campaign to encourage road users to wear seat belts and rest every two hours while driving, with the hashtag #PasangSokmo and #MohSinggah. – Bernama, January 21, 2020.