KLANG: Express bus drivers had better be on their best behaviour during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri rush as undercover Road Transport Department (JPJ) enforcement officers are likely to be among their passengers.

       Plainclothes personnel will be boarding buses at random nationwide from April 29 to May 8 to monitor the drivers.

       “They will be watching to ensure that the bus drivers are not tired or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and that they follow the traffic rules,” JPJ senior enforcement director Datuk Lokman Jamaan said yesterday.

       He told reporters at the Sani Bus Terminal here that bus drivers were responsible for the lives of hundreds of people daily, which was the main reason for deploying JPJ personnel to monitor them.

       “We will also have undercover personnel monitoring ticket sales to ensure that prices are fair.

       “We have frozen the leave of over 2,200 enforcement personnel nationwide, including 300 in Selangor,” he said, adding that they had also identified hotspots nationwide where personnel would be deployed to curb traffic accidents.

       The department has estimated that over 14 million vehicles will be on the road between April 29 and May 8.

       “At least two million vehicles are expected to be on the road at any time daily.

       “We urge road users to follow the traffic regulations and be responsible,” he said.

       Lokman added that motorists caught cutting queues, speeding, using mobile phones, beating red lights and misusing emergency lanes would be taken straight to court during this period.

       “We will not be issuing compounds for these five traffic violations,” he said.

       Lokman said officers would also be visiting 77 bus terminals and depots nationwide prior to Hari Raya to check the roadworthiness of express buses.

       “We have already inspected at least half of the terminals and depots,” he added.