Road Transport Act 1987

The Road Transport Act 1987 is the Malaysian statute that governs motor vehicle use on public roads, including the rule that makes third-party motor insurance compulsory.

Section 90 makes it an offence to use a vehicle without a valid third-party insurance policy, and Section 96 requires the insurer to satisfy a court judgment for death or bodily injury once a certificate of insurance has been issued.^[1] This is the legal basis for a third-party bodily injury claim against the at-fault driver’s insurer.

Because of this Act, an injured road user usually pursues the insurer’s obligation to pay, not the driver’s personal finances.

The Act also limits an insurer’s ability to avoid this liability on certain technical grounds, such as a driver’s licence irregularities, once a third party has been injured.

When an insurer resists a valid claim, an independent lawyer can take the claim on.