Selangor Journal
Heavy traffic caused by motorists heading back to their hometowns to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri, at Km 269 of the North–South Expressway (north bound) near Ipoh, Perak, on April 30, 2022. — Picture by BERNAMA

PDRM, PLUS activate two smartlane routes to address congestion

KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 — The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and Plus Berhad (PLUS) have activated two smart lane routes on the North-South Expressway (NSE) as a measure to address congestion, following the movement of vehicles back to the Klang Valley after the public holiday in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) director Datuk Seri Mat Kasim Karim, said the two northbound routes involved the Port Dickson intersection at KM259 to Seremban intersection (KM263) and Senai intersection (KM19) to Kulai intersection (KM27).

“The high volumes of vehicles from the south, north and east towards the capital city cause congestion in some places, such as the hilly areas, and the convergence of three to two lanes.

“JSPT officers are at hotspot locations on highways, federal and state roads as well as city roads where there is congestion to the capital, including personnel and drone units are systematically arranged to ensure smooth and controlled traffic flow,” he said in a statement today.

The smart lane aims to optimise the use of all lanes, including opening the leftmost space as a temporary lane, to increase lane capacity and help smooth traffic flow.

Mat Kasim said the public can channel information related to accidents or unusual congestion to the Bukit Aman traffic control room at 03-2266 3356, which operates 24 hours.

Meanwhile JSPT, in a post on its Facebook page, announced a total of 1,381 accidents, involving 2,072 vehicles of various types, on the fourth day of operations, codenamed Op Selamat 20, nationwide, yesterday.

Op Selamat 20 is being implemented for seven days, starting April 20.

It said that cars recorded the highest number of accidents which was 1,528 or 73.7 per cent of the total cases recorded yesterday.

“It was followed by motorcycles (256), four-wheel drive vehicles (122), multi-purpose vehicles (102 cases), vans (43), lorries (13), buses (five), and three cases of accidents involving taxis,” read the statement.

JSPT also advises road users to be vigilant while driving, to avoid being involved in an accident.

— Bernama

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