PETALING JAYA (ANN/THE STAR) – The Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) is considering the nationwide implementation of the Automatic Road Incident Detection System (ARIDS), an AI-based solution designed to detect road incidents in real time, aiming to reduce emergency response times on expressways.
Road safety expert and head of Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Road Safety Research Centre, Assoc Prof Dr Law Teik Hua, highlighted that while ARIDS has shown potential, it has yet to be fully utilised. Introduced in February, the system is currently being tested over 1,000km of expressways and federal roads in the Klang Valley and Kuching.
“Brunei and the city of Xi’an in China have already adopted ARIDS as part of their road safety initiatives,” said Dr Law. “We have proposed to LLM the need for its comprehensive adoption across Malaysia.”
LLM director-general Datuk Sazali Harun confirmed that the authority is seriously evaluating ARIDS following a presentation made by Dr Law’s team on November 15. “Further studies are needed to assess the system’s effectiveness before we proceed,” Sazali noted.
Dr Law revealed that the ARIDS system detected the recent fatal accident involving a container lorry in Simpang Renggam, Johor, at 7:46 am on November 15. The earliest report from the North-South Expressway’s (PLUS) Trafik X channel, however, only logged the incident at 8:09 am, indicating that earlier detection could potentially enhance response times and survival rates.
Currently, road incidents on Malaysian highways are primarily monitored via CCTV systems by concessionaires or reported by road users and highway patrols. In Xi’an, ARIDS is being piloted at 200 traffic light junctions, while in Brunei, it is deployed in its capital to monitor intersections and detect traffic abnormalities.
ARIDS functions as a mobile traffic management tool accessible via mobile phone, leveraging Google traffic data for real-time accident detection and traffic analysis, including traffic light functionality. The system autonomously identifies incidents and notifies users of irregularities through WhatsApp, without human intervention.
Dr Law added that data from ARIDS has underscored the need for more robust guardrails capable of withstanding high-impact collisions involving larger vehicles. West Coast Expressway (WCE) CEO Lyndon Alfred Felix acknowledged the evolving nature of crash prediction systems and noted that WCE currently employs Traffic Monitoring Systems (TMS) and CCTVs to identify potential risks and patterns such as erratic driving and speeding. WCE is also exploring predictive technology advancements.
Felix mentioned that real-time monitoring solutions like the Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) system, which detects vehicle loads without stopping traffic, are crucial for addressing overloading. However, he pointed out that enforcement efforts depend on coordination with relevant authorities.
Current regulations do not empower highway concessionaires to halt vehicles that are overloaded or deemed unsafe. “All vehicles can use highways unless restricted under orders gazetted by the Road Transport Act 1987, which places WIM under the Transport Ministry’s jurisdiction,” Sazali concluded.
