Return journey: Bumper to bumper traffic is seen at the Gombak toll plaza. — ART CHEN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Traffic on Peninsular Malaysia’s major expressways is expected to be slow today, with motorists returning home from the Hari Raya holiday taking advantage of the toll-free day.
Bukit Aman Traffic Investigations and Enforcement Department principal assistant director Supt Khairul Azhar Ismail said that based on their observations so far, traffic started picking up yesterday and is expected to carry through to the next day as well.
“We are expecting many motorists to ply the highways tomorrow due to the toll-free day, so motorists should plan their journeys properly and follow the PLUS travel time advisory.
“Motorists should expect heavy traffic and be patient and courteous with one another,” he said.
He added that motorists should avoid provoking one another by committing offences such as cutting queues and misusing the emergency lane.
Supt Khairul Azhar also advised motorists to get adequate rest before their journey and to ensure their vehicles were roadworthy.
“If you experience driver fatigue, head to the nearest rest area immediately and get some rest before continuing your journey,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to the Bukit Aman Traffic Investigations and Enforcement Department’s official Facebook page, 1,147 accidents involving 1,720 vehicles were recorded on the third day of Ops Selamat (April 22).
This showed a decrease compared to the 1,389 accidents reported on Friday.
Of the 1,720 vehicles involved in accidents on Saturday, 1,268 were cars, followed by motorcycles (209), 4WD vehicles (102), multipurpose vehicles (85), vans (36), lorries (11), buses (seven) and two taxis.
According to the PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) travel time advisory, motorists heading towards the Klang Valley from Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor are advised to begin their journeys before 9am from April 19 to May 1.
PLUS has also advised motorists to use its mobile phone application, Waze or Google Maps to get the latest traffic information and travel plans.
PLUS chief operating officer Datuk Zakaria Ahmad Zabidi was quoted saying on April 13 that over two million vehicles were expected to use the highways during the Aildilfitri period.
Meanwhile, traffic was slow moving at several stretches along the North-South Expressway, Elite Expressway and East Coast Expressway yesterday.
A spokesperson from the PLUS Monitoring Centre said that along the North-South Expressway, traffic was slow moving from Kepala Batas towards Hutan Kampung, Alor Setar Selatan towards Alor Setar Utara (northbound), Alor Setar Selatan towards Pendang (southbound), Gurun towards Pendang, Sungai Petani Utara towards Gurun, and Sungai Dua towards Bertam.
“Traffic was also slow moving from Juru towards Bandar Cassia in both directions, Bandar Baharu towards Jawi, Kuala Kangsar towards Changkat Jering, Ipoh Utara towards the Menora Tunnel, and the Menora Tunnel towards the Sungai Perak rest area,” he said yesterday.
He added that along the central stretch of the highway, traffic was slow moving from Rawang Selatan towards Sungai Buaya, Lembah Beringin towards Tanjung Malim, and Slim River towards Sungkai (bottleneck area).
“Along the southern section of the highway, traffic was slow moving from Nilai towards Senawang, Bukit Gambir towards Pagoh, Yong Peng towards Ayer Hitam, Machap towards Ayer Hitam, Senai towards Kulai, Kulai towards Sedenak, and Sedenak towards Kulai,” he said.
According to the East Coast Expressway official Twitter account, traffic was slow moving headed eastbound to the Gombak toll plaza, while a 4.9km crawl was also reported from the Gombak toll plaza headed west.
A one-kilometre crawl was also reported from KM138.9 towards the Chenor toll plaza.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that those travelling during the Hari Raya holiday period would be exempted from paying tolls when using the 33 highways.
