Putrajaya mulls freezing AES to avoid duplicating police speed traps

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — Putrajaya is considering holding back the implementation of the controversial Automated Enforcement System (AES) to avoid duplicating the police summons system that can double the hardship to motorists, sources say.

The privatised RM700 million project began in September with a pilot phase of 14 cameras but the Road Transport Department (RTD) has pledged to roll out a total of 831 cameras by end-2013 to catch speeding motorists and prevent more road deaths.

File photo of a speed camera. Nearly 300,000 summonses have been issued since the AES was implemented from September 23. — Reuters pic

The police, who enforce the speeding laws, have said they will continue enforcement and put up mobile speed traps near the AES cameras, raising the prospect of dual fines for errant motorists.

“The government is considering putting on hold the implementation of the AES due to the duplication of the summons system. That will cause hardship,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.

He also noted that several lawmakers from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) have also asked the government to stop the implementation until all views are considered.

Another source said the government wants to ensure the AES will help ensure that motorists follow speed limits throughout their journey rather than just in the areas where the cameras are situated.

“This system is to enforce speed limits and ensure road safety,” he added.

Some 10,000 motorists have paid up their summonses under the AES since it was implemented last September 23. The RTD said it has also issued nearly 300,000 summonses since then.

RTD director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said earlier this month that the number of traffic offences dropped by three-quarters since the AES cameras were used.

“We will not postpone our plan to implement the AES because it is a noble effort and in no way a punishment to motorists,” national news agency Bernama quoted him as saying.

The 14 cameras have been set up nationwide: seven in Perak, two in Selangor, and five in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. A further four cameras are mobile units.

But the police have announced they will maintain speed traps alongside the AES to catch speeding motorists, a deputy minister told Parliament last month, in a move that is likely to prove controversial and spark more public objection to the new cameras being installed on highways and other public roads.

“Despite the introduction of the AES, the government has no intention to abolish the old system.

“The police would operate (speed trap) cameras, while the new system would be operated by the Road Transport Department,” Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop said during Question Time in Parliament on November 5.

He maintained that the use of AES cameras and police speed traps would help reduce the nation’s accident rate by increasing awareness and the “perception of being caught”.

A number of lawmakers have argued that the AES would only benefit the two companies running the system ― Beta Tegap and ATES ― as the firms will allegedly stand to earn RM16 from every fine issued by the system.