Recently, the announcement by Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong that the federal government may make it mandatory for all 150cc motorcycles to have an anti-lock braking system (ABS) has gotten mixed reactions from the rakyat. As reported by The Star, the proposal is currently being studied by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) before a decision on its implementation will be made.
While some commended the move for prioritising road safety, others, especially motorcyclists labelled it a burden and an unnecessary rule at this moment in time. The latter argued that other aspects of road safety, such as the quality of our roads should be rectified by the federal government first.
Following the announcement of this potential ABS requirement for motorcycles, many began to question the relevance of existing road laws and regulations in our country as well as their enforcement, or rather, the lack of. One such law that stood out to me is the rather peculiar law that prohibits road users from having a horn that has more than one tone in their vehicles.
In case you didn’t know, having a vehicle horn that is melodic or has more than one tone is a chargeable offence under the Road Transport Act 1987. In fact, the punishment for this arguably harmless offence is rather heavy, given that you can be fined up to RM2,000 or jailed for up to 6 months if it’s your first conviction.
Should it be their second conviction, they face fines up to RM4,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months or both! However, the relevant authorities would usually just compound offenders rather than going through court.
Section 119(2) of the Road Transport Act 1987 prescribes the following punishment:
Any person who is guilty of an offence under this Act shall, where no special penalty is provided, be liable in the case of a first conviction, to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding four thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both.
Accordingly, equipping a vehicle with a modified horn as an accessory or through retrofitting is against Regulation 24(i) of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Rules 1959 LN 170/59. A road user is considered to commit an offence under the rules if they install a gong, bell or horn with more than one tone on their private vehicles.
Back in March last year, the Road Transport Department (JPJ) stressed that the use of horns with multiple or rhythmic tones can cause confusion among road users regarding the message the driver is trying to convey. JPJ also asserted that the use of these horns causes a public nuisance, especially when used in a residential area.
As reported by Sinar Harian, JPJ Selangor Director, Nazli Md Taib said that a horn is an important instrument used to warn, remind or signal other road users. Hence, having a horn with more than one tone can be detrimental to the purpose.
Nazli said the matter when JPJ Selangor conducted an operation called ‘Enforcement Operation Against Horns With Rhythmic Or More Than One Tone’ in March 2021. The operation targeted buses and lorries which modified their horns to have melodic tones mimicking popular songs.
Well, more than one year after the said operation, melodic horns in these heavy vehicles are still widespread on the road. Hence, if MOT intends to introduce new rulings such as ABS on 150cc motorcycles, then this lack of enforcement as well as the questionable rules and regulations that are being enforced should be looked into as well.
After all, what’s the use of having laws if they are not enforced or worse, not relevant?
Jamie is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
Register at headliner.newswav.com to become one of our content writers now!
Newswav is solely an aggregation platform and hosts the content. The views expressed and content above including media (pictures, videos, etc) were provided by the author. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
