In Malaysia, like any other country in the world, there are speed traps set up on highways to discourage people from speeding on the long straight roads. And the most common ones are those set up on the highways that road users are most afraid of.
Malaysia’s AES
On Malaysia’s PLUS (Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan) owned highways, they have installed AES (Automated Enforcement Systems) speed cameras along parts of the highway to help keep people driving within the speed limits. If somebody is speeding through areas installed with these cameras, they will take a photo of the speeding vehicles and issue them a summons to be paid.
Now you might be wondering, how does a camera know if you’re speeding on the highway? Well the answer lies on the roads you drive on, where they have two sensors embedded in the roads at a set distance that detects the time a car takes to pass the first sensor and then the second sensor. Then by using the time taken for your car to pass the distance between the two sensors, they can calculate the speed of your car using a simple formula (Speed = Distance / Time).
So if they calculate that you’re speeding on the road, their cameras placed on the side of the road will take a photo of the back of your car that has the number plate visible, and is quite noticeable as there is a flash whenever the AES takes a photo of a speeding car.
Signs that there is a speed trap
Due to Malaysia’s law, PLUS is required to display 3 signs that indicate that there is an AES camera operating, and their camera and speed traps can only be placed after the third sign, so that road users have ample notice that there is a speed trap ahead.
Their signs are quite obvious and are yellow in colour, with an image of a camera and the words “Zon Operasi Kamera”, which translates to camera operation zone
But the best thing to do is always follow the speed limits that have been implemented in different areas, as speeding only puts yourself and others in danger, while also putting a toll on your vehicle.
If you’re interested in knowing where different speed cameras are placed on Malaysia’s highways, you can read this article which details most of them.