PORT KLANG: Hauliers are appealing for government funding to have new Global Positioning System (GPS) with closed-circuit television (CCTV) installed in trucks to ensure their drivers practise better safety.
In an interview with Business Times here today, Association of Malaysian Hauliers (AMH) president Nazari Akhbar said “We’re very concerned about distracted driving.”
Distracted driving is when someone is talking on a phone, texting and eating while driving. And now, it includes playing Pokémon GO.
“Distracted driving takes many forms, and that includes playing Pokémon GO on your mobile phone,” he said. “If you’re not focused on driving with your eyes on the road, you’re at a higher risk of injuring or killing yourself and others in a crash.”
“Apart from reminding our drivers ‘Don't Pokémon GO and Drive’, one of the other ways to raise safety levels among our drivers is to invest in GPS and CCTV,” Nazari said.
“We hope the government will consider extending funds or tax incentives in the purchase of GPS and CCTV towards ensuring a safer road-using environment,” he added.
AMH members, which represent 70 per cent of hauliers in the country, own and operate some 13,000 trucks and trailers. Every day, hauliers ply the trunk roads of Malaysia moving cargo in and out of seaports.
Pokémon GO is a new gaming app that is based on a 1990s game but updated with the latest technology that uses augmented reality to superimpose virtual creatures onto real world locations. The app allows players to view and capture cute pocket monsters using their smartphones.
Since it was made available in Malaysia at the start of this month, Pokémon GO-mania has swept the nation, with tens of thousands of users having downloaded the app onto their smartphones.
As soon as it was launched in Malaysia, a businessman in Pahang was fined RM300 for playing Pokémon Go on his mobile phone while driving in Kuantan.
Under Section 17A (1) of the Road Transport Act, motorists were liable to a RM300 fine if found guilty of using their mobile phone while driving.
Since then, more cases of accidents involving Pokémon Go players have been recorded, with some walking into traffic and injuring themselves while being preoccupied with their phone screens.
Last week, two men engrossed in the augmented-reality game Pokémon GO were injured after they were hit by a car at Sg Petani, Kedah.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had taken to social media to remind all road users not to play the game while driving. "It's good fun but remember, don't Pokémon Go and drive," the minister had tweeted.