By YS Chan
UNDER Rule 103 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Rules 1959 (LN 170/1959), it is an offence for owners to modify the exhaust pipe and silencer to generate louder sound which may delight the driver but a nuisance to others.
If caught and charged in court, offenders can be fined up to RM2,000 and/or jailed for six months, as disclosed by Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) chief, Datuk Azizman Alias.
But going by the number of noisy motorbikes on the road, little action had been taken although the ruling had been in force for over six decades. As it is a seizable offence under Section 64 of the Road Transport Act 1987, repeat offenders should have their motorbikes confiscated.
Also, there is no need to wait for joint operations with the Department of Environment, which has traditionally been roped in to conduct tests on smoke emission. While it is true that summonses could only be issued after obtaining smoke or noise emission levels, any normal person could easily tell whether the exhaust system has been modified for louder noise.
In fact, the public could be roped in to record the registration number and sound of noisy motorbikes and send these videos to a handphone number managed by the police. The owners can then be summoned, together with the vehicle, to report at the nearest police station with equipment to test noise level.
And if the exhaust system had been changed back to normal, the owner cannot be summoned and there is no need to, as victory had already been won, with one less noisy motorbike on the road.
If this method is employed, more offenders will be apprehended within six months than all the traditional operations carried out over the past 60 years. As due warning had already been given by the police, it is time to get cracking. – Feb 23, 2021
YS Chan is Asean Tourism Master Trainer for travel agencies, master trainer for Travel & Tours Enhancement Course and Mesra Malaysia (both programmes under Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture). He is also a tourism and transport industry consultant and writer.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Photo credit: Paultan.org
