Toll cheats: Plus shouldnt penalise the innocent

comments     KS Ong     Published     Updated

There is no justification whatsoever for Plus to impose fines for overstaying on the North-South Expressway.

The company should try other means of catching those who cheat on paying toll including by exchanging tickets and by claiming to have lost their tickets.

By arbitrarily imposing fines on all those who overstay, Plus is taking the easy way out and inconveniencing many who are innocent. In other words, we are presumed guilty and have to prove our innocence - contrary to our basic legal concept.

However, the tow truck operators have no business to be overstaying on the highway. I have seen them park their vehicles under the shade waiting for calls from their contacts. Insurance claims are a lucrative business these days because of inflated claims by unscrupulous motor repairers. Which is why competition to clinch cases just after accidents on the highway often leads to fights.

There is a strong possibility that those who cheat on paying toll are being helped by Plus employees. What if car A - upon entry - collects multiple tickets then hands them to the cashier at nearest exit to be used by 'members' who pays only a portion of the their toll amount?

If Plus is feeling the pinch, there must be syndicates involved on a large scale not including the isolated cases of friends or relatives exchanging tickets at predetermined locations.

Plus should keep abreast with new ideas that toll cheats come up with. For instance, I note that at the Tapah rest areas on both sides of the expressway, a long fence has been erected to prevent the exchange of tickets.

If at all there is a justification to impose a check on the time spent on the expressway, it should be for the purpose of preventing speeding. For example, if it takes four hours to reach Kuala Lumpur from Gopeng if travelling at the maximum speed limit, then those who take only three hours should be made to explain.

Similarly, heavy vehicles with their predetermined speed limit with should be booked for arriving too soon. If they decide to rest and arrive within the accepted time brackets, then it will only be for their own good as most accidents are caused by sleepy drivers.



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