FIRST thing first. The action of the Myvi driver who rammed past the RFID (radio frequency identification) in a recent viral dashcam video at an unspecified toll booth recently should not be condoned.
But then the frustration of the driver is understandably “classic” as he has made no less than four futile attempts to manoeuvre or adjust the positioning of his vehicle with the crossbar refusing to grant him passage.
His ‘mental anguish’ is definitely not the first nor the last that every RFID user can attest to. Simply watch the dashcam recording by Facebook user Adrian Tan as seeing is believing.
Given that the RFID system has dismayed many highway and expressway users despite dozens of remedies being put forth by toll experts and motorists alike (but to little avail), it came as no surprise that the action of the irate Myvi drivers has earned praises from netizens who even hailed him “King”.
On the hindsight, toll dodging is a law violation with Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof saying recently that his ministry is proposing a new criminal law against toll evaders as part of the measures for the multi-lane free flow (MLFF) implementation on Malaysian highways and expressways in 2025.
“This is to avoid leakages as we are looking into the provision of the law that includes a penal code and whether toll evasion can be considered a criminal offence since there is no lane barrier under MLFF,” he told Free Malaysia Today (FMT) recently.
The new law shall entail a penal code and proposed amendments to relevant existing laws including the Road Transport Act 1987, among others.
Thai evolution
Well, well, well … As Malaysia grapples with RFID, northern neighbour Thailand has moved on to a very convenient – and motorist-friendly – number plate recognition toll payment system.
In February, the country announced that its gantry-less toll M-Flow payment method has passed its pilot programme testing and is ready for roll-out.
M-Flow is a new intercity expressway toll system that does not require gantries, hence road users are not required to stop and pay. This is expected to reduce traffic congestion as well as to minimise the use of cash.
The system which can detect number plates even though the car is travelling at 120 km/h allows motorists to pay the toll via three methods. The first method allows registered users to choose to accumulate their bills and pay every 1st or 16th of the month.
Or they can choose to pay per use with direct deduction from a registered credit or debit card (or from their so-called old M Pass or Easy Pass tag).
Thirdly, drivers can choose to pay via a QR (quick response) code, ATM (automated teller machine), at a service counter or via mobile banking.
These payments need to be made within 48 hours of passing through the M-Flow camera or else they will be subject to a penalty of paying 10 times the price of the original toll rate.
Well, some food for thought that is worth considering by the North-South Expressway concessionaire PLUS Malaysia Bhd before more RFID crossbars are broken through by irate motorists since a glaring precedent has already been set. – May 1, 2022
