Using CCTV to Catch Bad Malaysian Drivers

If I am not mistaken, this blog of mine, or rather should I say, “ours”, as it was initiated by my son in April 2009.

Today is its 14 months appearance since its inception.

If you have been following this blog, you would surely know that I am Cikgu Yap, the driving instructor and the one responsible for writing most of the articles appearing in our blog.

To be fair to my son, he has contributed some beautiful and well written articles himself. One article by him, I clearly recall was on renewing of license and road tax through MyEG services. It’s one of the top 10 articles currently in this blog.

Today, to be frank with you, I am slowly running out of topics to write about. After all, although I have over 40 years experience in this field, topics on all things pertaining to the driving school industry must surely come to an end eventually.

Being a pensioned person, I sometimes suffer from a slight insomnia. That is, I can’t sleep well at times. At my age, I guess that something not unusual. So, as I lay in bed this morning, and interesting topic cropped up in my mind. This is the topic which I am writing now.

Readers may wish to know, what’s the interesting topic which I am talking about. The topic is none other than CCTV and its potentials.

The Road Transport Department (R.T.D.), it is said will initiate the use of cameras soon. These cameras would be installed at all traffic junctions in Malaysia. It is intended to deter indisciplined motorists from doing dangerous stunts as beating red traffic lights.

The Road Transport Department cannot allow Malaysians to continue to behave in such manner. Foreigners have a very bad impression of Malaysian drivers as a whole.

Malaysia’s accident rate ranks amongst the highest in the world. It’s number three, behind China and India. The R.T.D. has to redeem the standard of Malaysian drivers. With this in mind, the R.T.D. has finally decided to implement the cameras in its Automated Enforcement System (A.E.S.) soon.

The role of CCTVs today in our country is indeed immense. The R.T.D., according to its Minister, Datuk Ong Tee Kiat, is scheduled to launch the A.E.S. program anytime now in September 2010 throughout the country.

With this system at all traffic lights junction, R.T.D. will fix surveillance cameras to deter indisciplined motorists from doing wrong things like beating red traffic lights and so forth. A very good move! In fact, it should have been implemented a long time ago.

So, all dear motorists, your days, as they say are about over. Your days are numbered! Think carefully, especially those riding motorcycles before you decide beating the traffic lights from now on.

Talking about the subject of CCTVs, permit me to relate to you a few interesting stories about this amazing discovery. One incident happened to me personally. Therefore, what I’m telling you is a true incident.

While recuperating at home, watching TV after my 1 ½ month stay at the Sungai Buluh Hospital 2 years ago, my wife, before she left the home for her work, installed a computer camera in our TV set.

Being ignorant of what it really was, I failed to realize that in fact she was actually observing me from her office. I actually get a shock of my life when she called from her office one day to tell me that I had failed to close the main gate of our house.

Looking out of the curtain, I actually thought she had come home early then. Only then did I realized, that my wife was observing all these things about our home from her office.

Now, I hope readers will realize what I mean when I say “The Power of Dreams”, which to me refers aptly to CCTVs. This instrument has the ability to achieve great heights in the near future.

When conducting one of my Kursus Pendidikan Pemandu (K.P.P.) class just recently, I happened to inquire of a student, a Puan Malini, where she worked. She told me she worked at a Carrefour supermarket. She went on to tell the class that the place where she worked had over 400 CCTVs to observe shop lifters.

A nephew of mine who runs a rather successful dim sum restaurant frequented by lots of diners, has installed lots of CCTVs all around his establishment. The CCTVs were installed to obverse his workers from his home!

The fourth example of the use of CCTVs for surveillance refers to a large Chinese school in North Klang. It has a student population of well over 3,000 at least. Students of mine, informs me that their school boasts of well over 20 CCTVs installed around their school premises, not only for security purposes, but also to observe the antics and “monkey tricks” of the students.

There is a bus company, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, that plies between Klang bus station and Kuala Lumpur daily, that has double decker buses. Its drivers use CCTV cameras installed near the driver’s seat to observe passengers who are on the upper deck of the vehicle. Such is the technology which we have today. Such therefore is the potential of CCTVs today!

Having given readers some insight into the potential of CCTV equipment today, I feel it is only appropriate that the story about the case of how CCTV cameras which were installed at a large mechanic establishment near a traffic light junction was reported to have recorded a traffic accident which took place at Jalan Sirat, Klang. 3 people unfortunately died in this nasty accident.

Either the car or the lorry involved was said to have beaten the red traffic light that morning. Well, the CCTV of the company that installed the set will surely tell all.

While we, as Malaysian motorists awaits eagerly the installation of 1200 CCTVs under the A.E.S. program by the Road Transport Department this September 2010, drive carefully.

Don’t forget red means stop!

Observing the traffic light can prevent a catastrophe taking place or even deaths. Incidentally, for your information, beating a traffic light, you’ll be fine RM300 for it. That’s according to the Road Transport Act 1987.

However, if you should choose to beat the traffic light and cause an accident, then you’ll be stopped with Section 41 of the R.T.A. 1987, which is driving dangerously and eventually causing death. And you might even be handed a 2 to 10 years imprisonment.

By | 2012-09-21T22:23:02+08:00 June 17th, 2010|Driving Safety|0 Comments

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