JPJ director-general Aedy Fadly Ramli said 1,108 summonses were issued to passengers for not wearing seat belts, followed by 62 to drivers, while 24 involved the failure to install seat belts on buses.

He said among the reasons given were that they were unaware that seat belts were mandatory or that enforcement regulations had been gazetted.

“This excuse is unacceptable, as checks revealed that most bus operators and drivers have either made announcements or displayed notices reminding passengers to wear seat belts,” he said at a press conference here today.

Aedy said tourists and foreigners would also not be exempted from action if found not wearing seat belts while on buses.

However, he said, overall compliance on express and tour buses had shown improvement, thanks to proactive steps taken by bus operators to remind passengers.

“Overall, we are seeing an increase in compliance, and passengers are beginning to better understand the importance of wearing seat belts while on the bus,” he said.