Motorists paid RM6.6mil for beating red light in KL

An astonishing RM6.6 million!

That is the amount collectively forked out by motorists in the city for beating the red light.

The Kuala Lumpur Police have issued 22,054 summonses for traffic light offences to errant motorists from January to September this year. Each summon is RM 300.

However, there was a slight decrease on the number of summons handed out during the same period last year. Kuala Lumpur Traffic chief ACP Rusli Mohd Noor said 35,185 summonses were issued throughout Jan-Sept 2011 with a total of RM10.55 million collected for the same offence.

"Most motorists take traffic lights lightly but traffic lights actually ensure the safety of road users and ensure smooth traffic flow in the city," Rusli.

Rusli said this irresponsible act was not only dangerous to the driver but also other motorists on the road.

"They don't understand that when the light turns amber, it is a sign to slow down and get ready to stop, or even better to stop right away," he said.

Therefore, he said it was disappointing that motorists still felt that it was a waste of time to wait for the light to turn green.

Rusli said summonses were issued to motorists only when a photo of the offence is captured by cameras installed at traffic light junctions around the city.

Besides the use of cameras, he said they also placed policemen in various areas to monitor and stop motorists who beat traffic lights.