A steep speed limit drop on a Penang expressway ramp is leaving motorists trapped between engineering theory and road reality. The curved stretch linking Jalan Tunku Kudin to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway towards the Penang Bridge now imposes a 40km/h limit, down from 80km/h, and daily commuters say the distance to decelerate is far too short.
The abrupt transition has triggered a wave of speeding summonses. Disgruntled road users argue that slamming on the brakes on such a busy downhill stretch creates a severe trailing hazard, risking rear-end collisions. The issue gained massive traction online after a motorist went viral in early June for receiving a summons for travelling at 54km/h, The Star reported, prompting hundreds of other drivers to come forward with identical experiences.
Penang police chief Comm Datuk Dennis Lim Kwang Keng defended the enforcement, saying motorists must slow down on the sharp bend. “It is a sharp curve, and motorists must reduce their speed. Vehicles risk skidding if they negotiate the bend too fast, particularly when the surface is slick during rainy weather,” he said. Any formal adjustment to the limit would require detailed environmental, traffic, and engineering assessments, according to Malay Mail.
Motorists have shared their frustrations on social media. Facebook user Chan Lilian said her husband was fined while riding his motorcycle along the stretch. She drove the route herself to test whether she could slow to 40km/h by braking but still clocked about 57km/h. “The road slopes downhill; you simply cannot slow down that abruptly without risking being hit from behind,” she posted. Another regular commuter revealed she had already received two speeding summonses at the same spot, one for travelling at 55km/h in March and another at 56km/h in May, despite what she described as her best efforts to comply.
A physical inspection of the site shows an 80km/h speed limit sign placed immediately after the Udini underpass, with a 40km/h sign positioned just before the uphill ramp. Seri Delima assemblyman Connie Tan Hooi Peng, who received at least 10 formal complaints from constituents branding the restriction impractical, conducted a site inspection alongside officials from the Northeast District Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department, the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), and the Public Works Department (JKR).
Tan said LLM maintained that the 40km/h benchmark was set according to the road’s engineering design, but she pushed back. “What motorists experience dynamically on the tarmac often differs from theoretical assessments on paper. I have requested LLM to re-examine the structural limits and identify a more practical solution,” she told The Star. Tan later updated her Facebook page to confirm that police speed enforcement at the hot spot has been temporarily suspended while the relevant technical agencies conduct further evaluation.
