Automatic summonses: Traffic offenders to get notices within 5 DAYS

PUTRAJAYA - Errant motorists caught on camera by the Automated Enforcement System (AES) will be notified within five days by the Road Transport Department (RTD).

"This way, the registered owner should not have trouble remembering who was driving the car at the point of offence – as opposed to if they were to find out about the offence one or two months later," RTD director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan told theSun in an interview.

The AES is expected to be enforced later this month.

Solah said the notice sent to a registered owner will include an image of the vehicle captured by the AES camera and also relevant information such as the time, date and place of the offence.

The photo will clearly show the number plate of the vehicle, the face of the driver and the recorded speed of the vehicle at that moment.

However, the face of the front passenger (if any) will be blocked out, as he or she does not have anything to do with the offence committed by the driver.

Vehicle owners who want more details of the offence, may call at any RTD office for clarification.

Explaining how the AES functions, Solah said the photo and video recording as well as details of offence captured will be sent to the AES control centre via real time online transmission.

There, the information will be processed and checked against the database to determine the details of the registered owner and his contact address for a notice of offence to be sent out.

Solah, who retires yesterday, stressed that the RTD will not arbitrarily issue the notice until the system has confirmed the ownership of the vehicle.

"If, for example, a particular number plate is registered to a Proton Saga but the image captured by the AES shows a lorry or a different type of car, then we will investigate further for confirmation," he said.

"However, if the details match, we will immediately send the notice to the registered owner."

Solah said the RTD also has a link-up with the police's Criminal Investigations Department, enabling it to find out about cases of stolen vehicles or those believed to be carrying false number plates.

He said upon receipt of a notice, a registered vehicle owner will have two months to pay the RM300 compound.

However, should the owner want to contest the notice in court, then he or she will be given an additional one month to do so.

Asked as to how RTD plans to handle instances where the registered vehicle owners have not updated their correspondence addresses, causing the notices not to reach the offenders, he said RTD would try to trace them through MyIdentity.

MyIdentity is a database used by the National Registration Department, RTD, Immigration and the Inland Revenue Board, where details of a person updated with any one of these government agencies, are shared.

Solah stressed that all vehicle owners have an obligation to update the RTD on any change of their addresses.

"But to be practical, we also expect that perhaps 20-30% of the notices issued will be returned to sender (RTD)," he said.

Solah said the AES was expected to come in force this month after a trial period which begun in August.

However, the RTD is in no hurry to implement the AES until it is certain the system is flawless from the point of detection, transmission, processing, payment and enforcement.

The trial run is being conducted at 14 of the 831 black spots identified nationwide.

"Only after everything is in order will we decide on the exact date for the AES to come in force, Solah said.

The privately-financed AES project undertaken by two concessionaire companies will see a total of 566 speed cameras and 265 traffic light cameras installed in stages.

Ironically, errant drivers caught committing traffic offences will be the ones ultimately paying for the system, as a percentage of the fines collected will go to the concessionaire companies which are each forking out between RM300 million to RM400 million to set up the AES.

The Sundaily