'Throw the book' at lorry firms over road accidents, experts say [WATCH]

KUALA LUMPUR: Authorities should throw the book at lorry companies for road accidents involving their drivers, a road safety activist and a criminologist said.

This, they said, was necessary after repeated calls by the authorities for enhanced safety on the roads had been ignored.

The employers must face legal consequences for negligence and failure to enforce safety measures, they added.

Their call came after a 10-tonne lorry rammed into 11 vehicles at a traffic-light junction in Alam Budiman, Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari, Shah Alam on Friday.

Four people were injured in the incident.

The 51-year-old lorry driver was arrested after a urine test returned positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Road safety activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said such incidents have occurred repeatedly despite warnings from authorities, including the transport minister, with dangerous driving, driving under the influence and vehicle overloading continuing to endanger lives.

"Employers should not be allowed to shift the blame entirely to drivers whenever accidents occur," he said.

"Morally, I would say the employers have a responsibility.

"When they employ drivers, first and foremost they must make sure that these drivers are disciplined, responsible and have enough rest when they drive."

Lee also raised concerns over payment arrangements based on the number of trips completed, saying such incentives could encourage drivers to work longer hours at the expense of road safety.

He called for stricter limits on commercial drivers' working hours, similar to those imposed on pilots, as well as a review of existing laws and stronger enforcement against drivers and employers who disregard safety requirements.

Senior criminologist Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy said the country already had substantial penalties for drug-impaired driving under Section 44 of the Road Transport Act, particularly for offences resulting in injury or death.

However, he said the Shah Alam incident raised questions about whether existing laws were being enforced consistently enough to prevent foreseeable harm.

"From a criminological perspective, deterrence depends not merely on the severity of punishment, but also on the certainty, and swiftness of detection and enforcement.

"Authorities should consider tougher consequences for repeat offenders, including appropriate licence suspension or disqualification, alongside targeted drug screening and effective prosecution," he said.

"Preliminary positive screening results, however, must be followed by proper investigation and due process."

Sundramoorthy said transport operators should conduct fitness-to-drive checks, maintain documented vehicle inspections, verify commercial driving licences and establish procedures for reporting suspected impairment.

"Where evidence establishes negligence or deliberate disregard of safety obligations, companies and responsible managers should face proportionate legal consequences.

"However, corporate liability should be based on evidence rather than imposed automatically whenever an employee commits an offence."

He said there should be better coordination among enforcement agencies and transport operators, with targeted road operations, risk-based drug screening and accident data used to identify recurring risks.

To address wider weaknesses in the criminal justice system, Sundramoorthy proposed establishing a Criminal Justice Advisory Committee comprising criminologists, legal experts and enforcement agencies to assess the effectiveness of existing laws and recommend evidence-based reforms.

"The real test of criminal justice policy is not how severely we punish after an incident, but how effectively we prevent the next one," he added.