The fines and summonses issued by the traffic cameras have reportedly contributed quite a bit to the government's bank account.
Errant motorists are everywhere
The government has revealed that they've collected over RM3.4mil in traffic fines in 2021 alone, Malay Mail reported.Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said that the amount was collected from speeding and red light violations captured by the Automated Awareness Safety System (Awas), which was formerly known as the Automatic Enforcement System (AES).
The enforcement of speed limits and traffic offences were reportedly suspended in 2020, Wee said, but they are now back in operations again based on the guidelines set by by the Road Transport Department.
Not surprisingly, the Awas system -- comprising of 29 cameras located on major highways and 16 others in in selected traffic light locations -- has become quite a cash cow for the government, as Wee revealed that from 2018 until 26 October of this year, they have collected a whopping RM10,967,370 in fines and compounds.
That's a lot of money!
Image credit: Malay Mail
According to Wee, the amount came from 321,562 summons for speeding offences and 14,427 summons for traffic offences.
Errant motorists can be fined up to RM300 for a traffic offence.
“As much as RM3,880,200 from compounds for 2018 followed by RM3,608,970 in 2019 and then RM3,478,200 in 2021.
“RM10,035,420 were from speed limit infractions while RM931,950 was for traffic light offences," Wee was quoted as saying.
Many yet to pay up
Despite the number of summonses issued by the Awas system, Wee said that around 85 per cent, or 286,566 summonses, have yet to be paid.“As many as 46,097 summons for speed limit and 3,326 summons for traffic light infractions have been paid according to the dates given,” We was further quoted as saying.
We are pretty sure Malaysians are waiting for the discounts that would be coming soon, right?
MAIN IMAGE CREDIT: Bikers Republic