Do not repair vehicles on highway emergency lanes, warns Miros

KUALA LUMPUR: Motorists on highways whose vehicles have broken down are urged not to conducts repairs on the emergency lane and to call for help instead.

Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) board of directors’ chairman Datuk Suret Singh said attempting to repair vehicles or changing tyres in the emergency lane of highways was very dangerous.

Those seeking help should contact the 999 emergency hotline or the highway’s operator.

“All highway operators have patrol and rescue units, so contact them for assistance and to avoid any loss of life. If you don’t have the number on your phone, you can obtain it through a Google search.

“Usually, a highway patrol unit will arrive as soon as possible and tow the vehicle to the nearest rest area. Also, all passengers need to exit the vehicle and gather outside the road barrier,” he said in a statement today.

He advised motorists to learn from the fatal incident at occurred at North-South Expressway Central Link (Elite) on Dec 18 that killed 10 people.

A mother and eight of her children as well as a mechanic were killed in an incident involving three cars and a lorry at the Elite USJ rest area heading towards Shah Alam.

The lorry rammed into three cars stopped on the emergency lane, one of which had broken down.

Suret said the vehicle emergency or hazard lights should be turned on and a reflective triangle or a safety cone placed around 30m behind the vehicle as well as to use a flashlight.

He also suggested that motorists keep a reflective vest to be used at night in cased of emergencies.