Road safety expert calls for landmark DUI vehicle confiscation law

 

ROAD safety advocate Shahrim Tamrin has urged the government to introduce a landmark amendment to the Road Transport Act 1987 that would allow the mandatory forfeiture and auctioning of vehicles used in driving under the influence (DUI) offences, particularly those involving death or serious injury.

He said the proposal would add a new provision under Section 44, modelled after Section 80 of the Land Public Transport Act 2010, which already allows authorities to seize and forfeit commercial vehicles for offences such as overloading.

Shahrim’s comments came after a motorcyclist in his 30s was killed on March 29 in Klang when he was struck by a Honda City driven by a man in his 20s who tested positive for alcohol and drugs.

Police said the driver was overtaking at high speed along Jalan Raya Barat when he collided with the motorcycle, throwing the rider onto another vehicle and killing him at the scene.

Urine tests confirmed the driver was under the influence, and the case is being investigated under the Road Transport Act and Dangerous Drugs Act.

The incident, which went viral and sparked public outrage, has renewed debate over whether Malaysia’s current penalties are sufficient to deter fatal impaired driving.

“If Malaysia can permanently forfeit a commercial lorry for overloading, it is only logical to apply the same measure to vehicles used as weapons by impaired drivers,” Shahrim said, adding that the move would make Malaysia the first country in Asia to adopt such a law.

Under the proposed framework, vehicles linked to repeat DUI offences, high blood alcohol content, drug-impaired driving, commercial vehicle offences, or DUI cases causing death or serious injury would be impounded at the roadside and forfeited upon conviction.

Ownership of the vehicle would be transferred to the government, with forfeited vehicles auctioned after a 90-day holding period. Proceeds would be split equally between a proposed DUI Victim Compensation Fund and the Road Safety Trust Fund.

Third-party owners such as parents, employers or financial institutions would be protected, with the vehicle returned to them while the offender remains liable for an equivalent payout to the compensation fund.

Shahrim said similar measures have proven effective internationally, citing Latvia and Belarus, where vehicle confiscation has led to a measurable drop in repeat DUI offences.

“A fine of RM1,000 or RM2,000 is simply not enough to deter repeat offenders. When the vehicle is taken away and auctioned, the message is clear: you lose the very thing you used to endanger others,” he noted.

He added that motorcyclists, who account for the majority of road fatalities in Malaysia, would also be covered under the proposal, with safeguards in place to protect low-income first-time offenders.

The proposal forms part of the broader DUI Road Safety Plan 2026–2035, which also includes lower blood alcohol limits, mandatory alcohol interlocks and enhanced enforcement measures. ‒  Focus Malaysia