Malaysia Enforces Bus Seat Belt Rules After Gerik Crash Kills 15 Students

Nearly 1,200 fines as Malaysia tightens bus safety

Malaysia's Road Transport Department (JPJ) issued 1,108 fines to passengers, 62 to drivers and 23 to bus operators in the first few weeks of stricter seat belt enforcement on express and tour buses. The crackdown began on July 1, 2025, following a crash near Gerik, Perak, that killed 15 students from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI).

As of August 7, passengers and drivers covered by the requirement face a fine of RM300, about US$71, for travelling without fastening their seat belts. Foreign tourists must follow the same rules as Malaysian passengers.

The enforcement campaign follows years of inconsistent compliance with requirements for newer buses to have seat belts. Since 2020, new express and sightseeing buses have been required to provide belts for every passenger. Authorities are now putting greater pressure on passengers to use them and on drivers and operators to make sure the equipment and reminders are in place.

JPJ officers are checking buses at terminals and on highways, reviewing onboard CCTV footage and using officers travelling as ordinary passengers to identify violations. Older buses have been given a grace period to install seat belts.

The changes affect a familiar part of travel in Malaysia: boarding a bus, taking a seat and settling in for a journey. Drivers are expected to remind passengers to buckle up before departure, while passengers are responsible for keeping their belts fastened throughout the trip. Operators must also address missing equipment and make safety procedures part of their daily service.

The Gerik tragedy behind the crackdown

On June 9, 2025, a bus carrying 42 passengers, mostly university students, veered off the East-West Highway near Gerik and overturned. Fifteen UPSI students died, and dozens more were injured.

Investigations found that many victims had not been wearing seat belts and were thrown from the bus during the crash. The deaths brought renewed attention to the gap between requiring safety equipment and making sure people actually use it.

Safety advocates, experts and members of the public called for urgent action. Although installation requirements had applied to new express and sightseeing buses since 2020, compliance had been uneven and enforcement lax.

The key dates show how the existing equipment requirement became the focus of a broader enforcement campaign:

• January 2020: The starting point for the newer express and tour buses covered by the seat belt requirement.
• June 9, 2025: The crash near Gerik killed 15 UPSI students and injured dozens of other passengers.
• July 1, 2025: JPJ began stricter enforcement of mandatory seat belt use on express and tour buses.
• By August 7, 2025: Nearly 1,200 fines had been recorded during the first few weeks of enforcement.

Which buses and passengers are covered?

The requirement applies to drivers and passengers on express and tour buses from January 2020 onwards. Its scope is described in terms of buses manufactured from that date, with the compliance requirements also referring to buses registered from January 2020.

Passengers must wear seat belts throughout the journey. Tourists do not receive an exemption because they are visiting Malaysia or because bus seat belt rules are enforced differently in their home countries.

Older buses have a grace period to retrofit seat belts, meaning operators must add the equipment to vehicles already in service. Authorities expect all buses eventually to comply. No deadline for completing those older bus installations, or date for the proposed expansion of inspections to other bus categories, has been given.

JPJ has issued detailed guidance to operators and is working with the industry on the transition. The approach combines immediate enforcement for buses already covered with time for older fleets to obtain the necessary equipment.

Who pays when a passenger refuses?

JPJ director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli has said there will be no compromise on violations. The department places responsibility on drivers to remind passengers before the vehicle starts moving, while passengers remain accountable for refusing to buckle up after a reminder.

Aedy explained how JPJ would assign responsibility:

Drivers are responsible for ensuring all passengers fasten their seatbelts before starting the journey. If drivers fail to remind passengers, everyone—including the operator—can be fined. If reminders are given and passengers still refuse, only the passengers will be fined.

The RM300 penalty therefore affects more than the person sitting in a passenger seat. Drivers and operators can also face penalties when they fail to carry out their responsibilities. Operators have separately been fined for failing to install seat belts.

Liability remains a concern within the bus industry. Operators argue that they should not be punished for a passenger's decision to ignore a clear instruction after the driver and company have fulfilled their duties.

JPJ's position makes the reminder an important part of each departure. A driver needs to give it, and the passenger then needs to act on it. CCTV footage can help officers check whether the reminder was delivered.

How officers are checking compliance

JPJ's early enforcement figures add up to 1,193 fines: 1,108 for passengers, 62 for drivers and 23 for operators that failed to install seat belts. Passenger fines account for about 93% of that total, calculated from those three figures.

Most people fined said they did not know about the rule or did not realise enforcement had started. Authorities have made clear that lack of awareness will not excuse a violation.

Random checks take place at bus terminals and along highways. Officers also review CCTV recordings from inside buses to establish whether drivers reminded passengers to fasten their belts before departure.

Undercover officers have been deployed to board buses as ordinary passengers and catch violations during journeys. This adds checks inside the vehicle to the more visible inspections at terminals and roadside locations.

The monitoring methods serve different purposes. A terminal inspection can identify missing seat belts or passengers who have not buckled up before departure. Footage and officers travelling onboard can help establish what happened inside the bus, including whether the required reminder was given.

Tourists need the same safety message

The Malaysian Tourism Federation has highlighted a particular problem among foreign visitors: some come from countries where bus seat belt use is not strictly enforced. They may be unfamiliar with Malaysia's requirements, especially when vehicles lack clear signs or passengers receive no reminder.

Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel, president of the federation, has called for drivers and tour guides to share responsibility for passenger safety. He suggested making safety briefings and reminders to buckle up a standard operating procedure for tour operators.

A consistent briefing would give visitors the same instruction before each journey, regardless of which company runs the trip. It would also make the requirement clear to passengers who might otherwise assume that a seat belt is optional on a bus.

Industry groups and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture are providing guidance and encouraging members to give passenger safety priority. Many reputable tour operators already ensure that their vehicles have functioning seat belts, although inconsistencies remain among smaller operators and older fleets.

Authorities are planning information campaigns and have advised operators to put visible reminders inside their vehicles. The aim is to make fastening a belt a shared expectation for local passengers and visitors alike.

What operators are changing before departure

Mohamad Ashfar Ali, president of the Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association, said members had been instructed to remind passengers to buckle up whenever they were seated and before a journey began.

Operators use announcements and compliance checks before departure. On longer journeys, reminders are repeated after rest stops, when passengers return to their seats.

Ashfar argued that drivers and operators should not be held liable when they have provided the required reminders and a passenger still chooses to ignore the rule. His position reflects the industry's concern about how much control a driver can exercise over individual behaviour once instructions have been given.

Bus companies have been updating standard operating procedures and investing in safety equipment. Many now provide briefings before journeys and display reminders inside their vehicles.

Smaller operators and owners of older fleets face a practical challenge: finding the resources to install seat belts quickly. The grace period gives them time to make those changes, while the expectation of eventual compliance applies across the fleet.

Why installation, education and enforcement matter together

A global seat belt review published on ScienceDirect identifies failure to follow seat belt laws as a continuing problem worldwide. It describes driver demographics, the characteristics of a journey and the strength of enforcement policies as factors affecting whether people buckle up.

The review sets out the "3 E's" approach: engineering, education and enforcement. Engineering means vehicle design and installing the necessary safety equipment. Education means explaining the rules and the reasons for them. Enforcement means checking compliance and applying penalties.

Malaysia's experience brings those three tasks together. A bus needs working belts, passengers need to understand that they must use them, and authorities need a way to check that the requirement is being followed. Compliance among Malaysian drivers is relatively high, while passenger compliance, particularly on buses, has lagged.

Seat belts help keep people in their seats during a crash, reducing the risk of being thrown from the vehicle. Safety experts regard their use as one of the most effective ways to reduce deaths and serious injuries in bus accidents.

Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, chairman of the Alliance for a Safe Community, said many buses still failed to meet seat belt requirements. Calling for stricter enforcement and better monitoring of installation and use, he criticised operators over the danger to passengers:

When an accident occurs, passengers are thrown out of the bus due to not wearing seat belts. This demonstrates the careless attitude of public transport operators, who appear to disregard the safety of passengers.

Technology and the next stage of inspections

Md Hairolazaman Muhamed Nor, president of the Malaysian Road and Transport Safety Association, has suggested installing GPS and cameras in buses to help monitor compliance throughout a journey. He also recommended seat belts with alarms that alert the driver when passengers are not buckled up.

CCTV is already part of the enforcement process, while GPS and belt alarms feature among proposals for stronger monitoring. The wider approach combines safety equipment, passenger reminders and checks that continue beyond the departure terminal.

Authorities are also considering extending enforcement to other categories of buses, including vehicles owned by higher education institutions and residential schools. Inspections would take place in phases, with the aim of bringing buses under the same safety standards regardless of ownership.

Public reaction has been largely supportive, and there have been calls to extend the mandate to all forms of passenger transport. Government engagement with operators and the grace period for older buses seek to combine passenger protection with the practical work of upgrading fleets.

Malaysia's campaign also presents a possible example for other countries in Southeast Asia considering stronger bus safety measures. Its stated ambition is to make compliance routine through enforcement, public education and shared responsibility. For passengers, the immediate change is concrete: a belt must be available, the reminder must be given, and the belt must be worn.

Key Points

• Stricter seat belt enforcement began on July 1, 2025, for drivers and passengers on covered express and tour buses from January 2020 onwards.
• The June 9 crash near Gerik killed 15 UPSI students and injured dozens of others.
• JPJ recorded 1,108 passenger fines, 62 driver fines and 23 operator fines in the first few weeks.
• Violations carry a RM300 penalty, about US$71. Foreign tourists must also comply.
• Drivers must remind passengers to buckle up. Passengers who refuse after a reminder face the penalty themselves.
• Checks include terminal and highway inspections, CCTV reviews and undercover officers travelling on buses.
• Older buses have a grace period to install belts, while wider inspections of institutional and school buses are under consideration.