PETALING JAYA: The concessionaire for the Karak highway and the East Coast Expressway Phase 1 (LPT1) incurs losses exceeding RM20,000 annually due to persistent toll evasion.
AFA Systems and Services Sdn Bhd general manager Ismaliza Ibrahim said the company recorded nearly 3,000 instances of toll evasion per year, or an average of eight cases daily, Bernama reported.
"The primary method used by these offenders is tailgating. They follow closely behind the vehicle in front to slip past the toll barrier. This accounts for 63% of cases," she said.
Ismaliza was speaking after an operation conducted together with the road transport department and police at the Karak toll plaza between 3am and 5am today.
This operation was aimed at detecting tailgating and unauthorised toll lane use, and other offences.
Ismaliza said Class 1 vehicles constituted the largest group of toll evaders, accounting for 95% of such incidents, followed by Class 2 vehicles (1.9%) and Class 3 vehicles (1.3%).
The operation targeted 37 persistent offenders across various vehicle classes, all of whom were identified as repeat violators at the Karak toll plaza, resulting in cumulative losses of RM10,600.
One vehicle was found to have committed 27 violations, resulting in a loss of RM771.50. Another vehicle had evaded toll 44 times, resulting in RM350.10 in losses.
Ismaliza said under Section 8 of the Federal Roads (Private Management) Act 1984, anyone convicted of toll evasion faces a fine of not less than RM2,000 and up to a maximum of RM5,000, or imprisonment for a term of up to one year.