My Reality Bites

Costly to make illegal U-turn

It may cost you RM200 for making an illegal U-turn in front of the Simpang wet market near Taiping.
Several motorists had received summonses for that offence from the Road Transport Department (JPJ).
However many of them cried foul, saying that there were no signages there to prohibit U-turn.
Concerned with the matter, Aulong assemblyman Yew Tian Hoe visited the spot re cently.
“To avoid further confusion, I will pay for the cost of erecting a ‘No U-turn’ signage there to prevent other unwary motorists from being compounded by the JPJ,” he told reporters.
Danger spot: A Road Transport Department officer showing Yew where motorists like to make illegal U-turn.
Yew also said that he would also sponsor another ‘No U-turn’ sign at a traffic lights junction located about 100m away as some motorists using the Butterworth-Ipoh old trunk road had also been compounded by traffic policemen for making illegal U-turns.
“Once the ‘No U-turn’ signages have been erected, both the JPJ and the traffic police men can compound errant motorists,” added Yew.
Yew, who was accompanied by a JPJ enforcement officer, was told by the latter that compound notices had to be issued to discourage motorists from making illegal U-turns in front of the Simpang wet market.
The JPJ officer said motorists should make their own judgment as the gap was not meant for U-turns for motorists exiting from Taiping town.
“Frequent accidents had occurred there because U-turns are supposed to be made further up the stretch,” said the officer.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic crawl often occurred in front of the market especially on Fridays and the situation worsened when some motorists made illegal U-turns there, added the JPJ officer.
ref:http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/4/24/north/20080424092045&sec=North