MPV driver calls for improved LPT2 safety measures after elephant collision

CHUKAI, Aug 6 — The driver of a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) that collided with a herd of wild elephants at Kilometre 274.6 of the East Coast Expressway 2 (LPT2) here last Tuesday has expressed disappointment over the highway’s safety measures, claiming they failed to prevent wild animals from entering the carriageway and endangering motorists.

Victim Abdul Wahid Ismail, 55, from Kampung Pasir Gajah here, said the incident came as a shock as the herd was on the highway and appeared suddenly at night, leaving him with no time to avoid the collision.

He said motorists using the highway face the risk of even more serious accidents if elephants and other wild animals continue to breach the expressway in future.

He therefore supported Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi’s directive yesterday for the LPT2 concessionaire to immediately repair damaged safety fencing and review long-term measures to enhance motorists’ safety following the incident.

“Before a more serious accident claims lives, it is better for immediate action to be taken to repair the safety fencing and strengthen preventive measures to ensure such incidents do not recur,” he told reporters at his home in Kampung Pasir Gajah here today.

Abdul Wahid, a lorry driver, said he plans to seek compensation from the LPT2 concessionaire over the accident.

“The accident left my wife, Fauziah Muda, 52, with a fractured right arm, while our vehicle was also badly damaged,” he said.

In the 10.20pm incident last Tuesday, the couple sustained injuries after their Toyota Estima MPV crashed into a herd of elephants on the road after the Cheneh Toll Plaza exit here. — Bernama