THE government has no current plans to mandate the installation of dashcams in road vehicles, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook. While acknowledging the feasibility of such a proposal, Loke pointed out potential public resistance due to the added costs.
“Anything made mandatory, people will say it adds cost. They already feel the pinch and don’t want additional expenses. So, this (installing dashcams) is something we haven’t decided to make mandatory yet,” he said during an engagement session with news editors on road safety.
However, Loke mentioned the government might consider making dashcams mandatory for new cars.
“What we can do is start with making it a condition for new cars. Manufacturers will have to meet certain specifications, and a dashcam could be one of these features.
“Any new car produced must then include a dashcam. This is something we might consider,” he stated, adding that any implementation of a new rule across the board would be “very challenging”.
Loke drew a parallel with the difficulty of enforcing the use of child car seats.
“Some car owners had complained that they could not fit enough child car seats in their five-seater vehicles to accommodate all of their young children.
“Some vehicles don’t even have the right specifications to fit a child car seat at all. So if we were to make it (dashcams) compulsory, we could perhaps do it for new vehicles.”
According to the minister, the government might begin by mandating dashcams for specific vehicle categories, such as public buses.
Moreover, Loke also announced that the Cabinet committee on road safety, which includes representatives from several ministries and government agencies will increase the frequency of its meetings. Established 20 to 30 years ago, the committee had been ineffective due to irregular meetings and a lack of focus.
“Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has expressed his commitment (to ensuring that the committee meets more frequently).
“The Cabinet committee now plans to meet at least three times a year to review the measures taken by the various agencies and ministries on road safety and assess their effectiveness,” he added.
Earlier, Loke revealed that in 2023 alone, approximately 600,000 road accidents were recorded with over 6,000 being fatal. – May 16, 2024
