By Ling Hui
KUCHING, Oct 1: The traffic light breakdown at Jalan Tun Razak yesterday (Sept 30) was caused by an overloaded container truck, says Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng.
He said the overloaded truck exceeded the maximum vehicle height, and the extra load had damaged the hanging traffic light, which caused an electric shortage in the entire circuit.
Though the traffic police and related parties were contacted immediately and despatched to the site, he said, the incident had caused traffic congestion and inconvenienced many road users.
“Because the hanging traffic light was high, it took them about 40 minutes to resume traffic.
“And because the traffic light circuit is usually interconnected, both sides of the traffic lights were affected,” he said during his ShallWeeTalk Facebook live session today.
To prevent similar incidents from happening again, Wee said companies allowing their transportation trucks to be overloaded should be punished accordingly.
He said the culprits, including those who vandalise public property, especially traffic lights, must be responsible for the repair costs and also be penalised.
“Of course, we need higher-quality CCTVs to identify the culprits and penalise them accordingly.
“A traffic light typically costs about RM5,000 to RM6,000. However, the taller ones with CCTVs can cost up to RM10,000, and those with better digital installations can cost up to RM20,000 each.
“So, if broken, the culprits should be the ones to bear the repair costs and be penalised. The repair works should not be paid with tax money paid by the people,” he asserted.
Serious about resolving this issue, Wee said he would soon call for a meeting with related parties to discuss and address the issue. — DayakDaily
