Overloaded Gravel Lorry Cause Of Fatal Fru Crash, Report Released Today - MOT

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 31 (Bernama) -- The main cause of the fatal crash involving a gravel-laden lorry and a Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) truck in Teluk Intan on May 13 this year was due to the lorry exceeding 70 per cent of its permissible laden weight (BDM).

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) said that the final report on the fatal collision, which occurred on Jalan Chikus-Sungai Lampam, Teluk Intan, has been released and can be accessed by the public via the ministry's official website from today.

"The overloading resulted in the vehicle losing control and colliding with the FRU truck, which was returning to Ipoh as part of a convoy,” the MOT said in a statement today.

It added that the report also stated that no mechanical failures were detected in the braking or steering systems, and the crash was due to operational and compliance factors, including weak internal supervision by the lorry operator and the absence of a functioning Global Positioning System (GPS).

The MOT also said that 16 safety recommendations had been presented, covering six main areas, including enhancing compliance with the Industry Code of Practice (ICOP) for Road Transport Safety, improving the Land Public Transport Act 2010 (Act 715) and upgrading safety features in government vehicles such as the installation of seat belts for all seats.

"This report was independently and objectively prepared by a special task force established under the Cabinet's instruction, to identify the cause of the accident, as well as to propose improvement measures to enhance road safety in the country,” it added.

The MOT emphasised that the safety investigation was not intended to assign blame or determine liability for any party, but rather to strengthen land transport safety policies so that such tragedies do not recur.

In the 8.54 am crash on May 13, nine FRU personnel were killed while nine others were injured after the FRU truck they were in collided with the tipper lorry while returning to their base in Sungai Senam in Ipoh.

-- BERNAMA