Taman Jaya residents living in fear of lorry drivers

The lorry drivers park their vehicles anywhere they like and speed along the only access road kinking Taman Jaya and Bahau.

PETALING JAYA: A transportation company in Negeri Sembilan and its lorries are giving residents in Taman Jaya, a hard time.

The lorries are parked haphazardly in the residential areas and they speed on the only road linking Taman Jaya to Bahau.

Aastivaram Foundation vice president, R Sri Sanjeevan said the problem started when a cooking gas supplier obtained a land deep in Taman Jaya to park its lorries in December.

“The lorry drivers are often seen racing in the only road linking Taman Jaya to Bahau. Plus, the road is small and the drivers’ attitude is worrying the residents,” claimed Sanjeevan.

He also said that some of the lorry drivers are also often seen parking their heavy vehicles indiscriminately along the road to have food at stalls nearby, causing unnecessary traffic congestion at the area.

Sanjeevan also claimed that one resident from Taman Jaya met with an accident last month after his motorcycle collided with a lorry parked at the roadside, during the night.

“Thankfully, the rider only suffered minor fractures after hitting the back of the truck. However, we cannot wait until someone loses his life before taking any action, “said Sanjeevan.

The company, Sanjeevan said, owns about 30 lorries and also rents its parking space to other lorries.

Among other residential areas affected by the problem were Taman Bahau and Taman Desa Puteri as the residents there also use the same road to reach Bahau.

After receiving complaints from nearly 30 families, Sanjeevan said he had instructed his local Negeri Sembilan rep last week to meet up with the company but claimed was rudely told off.

“The transportation company owner send about 30 lorry drivers to scold my members when all they wanted was to talk about the residents’ complaints. I was told that the owner just stood there while they hurled verbal abuses to my NGO members,” claimed Sanjeevan.

Upset with the incident, Sanjeevan said that he reported the matter to the Land Transport Department (SPAD) on Friday.

On why he did not lodge a complaint with the Road Transport Department (JPJ), Sanjeevan said he had done so early last month but received no reply.

When contacted, SPAD’s director of enforcement Che Hasni Che Ahmad confirmed that he had received Sanjeevan’s complaints and he had directed his officers to gather more information on the issue.

“Give us one week to collect the necessary details,” said Che Hasni.

Among others, Che Hasni said that SPAD needed to find out whether is there an alternative route for the lorries to use.

“We have to find out whether the transportation company obtained the local government’s approval to set up their base in the residential area,” he said.