THE number of kereta potong continues to rise at an alarming rate. Puspakom detected more than 4,000 last year — double the 2003 figure, and a manifold jump over the 80 recorded barely six years ago — and expects this year’s tally to increase to 5,000. The number of dangerous and defective cars may well be higher as only three out of four of the cars whose ownership was transferred were inspected by Puspakom. Indeed, since about 150,000 used cars have not been checked, their roadworthiness may be called into question, although they may not all belong to the kereta potong variety. While it may be the lawless and careless driver behind the wheel rather than the defects in the vehicle that is responsible for much of the mangled machines, injured bodies, and lives lost on the road, there is no question that strategies to reduce accidents must include measures to make sure that vehicles on the roads are in good condition. This is why periodic vehicle inspection has become mandatory in most developed countries and in some developing nations. In Malaysia, however, this has been confined to commercial vehicles. In the case of private cars, this has been limited not only to transfers of ownership but further restricted to cover only transactions involving second-hand cars financed by loans. With kereta potong posing a deadly menace, in the interest of road safety, there is every reason to make mandatory testing a requirement not only for all transfers of ownership — as advocated by Puspakom — but also for all renewals of road tax. There should, of course, be a grace period for newer cars. The Transport Ministry is considering making it compulsory for cars which are three to five years old to be inspected, in line with the time frame in those developed countries with a good track record in road safety. With motorcyclists and their pillion riders making up more than half of the fatalities on the road, there is no reason why motorcycles and scooters should not be regularly checked for their roadworthiness too. The protection that compulsory inspection affords car buyers from the fraudulent practice of kereta potong, and the role that regular check-ups play in guarding against vehicular defects, depend just as much on the rigour of the tests as on their compulsion and frequency. Inspections need to be well-administered and hassle-free. Since owners of older cars and motorcycles tend to be those with limited financial means, the fee for inspection should also be reasonable
kereta potong = a car which is usually a second hand or used car that have some part or fully part of cars assembled together by different parts from various cars and generally, it is unknown by many car buyer and perfectly disguise or well hidden marks done by the car seller.
Thanks to: 10 July 2006, By New Straits Times
