The driver pays. A rental car traffic fine in Malaysia is the responsibility of whoever was driving when it happened, even though the summons is first sent to the rental company as the car's registered owner. Because only the named renter may drive a Grandpride car, that means you. How Grandpride passes a summons on, and whether there's a handling fee, is CHECK: Grandpride's process when a summons arrives for a rental car: how the renter is told, whether the renter is named to JPJ or PDRM or asked to pay Grandpride, and any admin fee.
How a camera summons gets from the road to you
The camera records the plate, not the face. Malaysia's AES and AWAS cameras, run by JPJ, catch speeding and red-light running, and the summons is linked to the car's registration number. For a rental, that's the rental company.
The notice goes to the registered owner, and it can take time to arrive. By then you may have returned the car, flown home or forgotten the drive entirely.
The owner names the driver. Under section 115 of the Road Transport Act 1987, the registered owner must give the authorities the name and address of the person driving when they ask for it. A rental company can do that from its records: the booking, the agreement and the times on it. Demerit points go on the owner's record unless the actual driver is declared, which is another reason a company will name the renter.
The summons then follows you. Either it's issued in your name and you pay it directly, or the rental company settles it and recovers the amount from you, depending on its terms.
The summonses you can get, and where to check them
| Type | Issued by | Typical cause | Check it in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camera summons (AES, AWAS) | JPJ | Speeding, red lights | MyJPJ app |
| Police summons | PDRM | Offences seen by officers, including at roadblocks | MyBayar PDRM |
| JPJ roadside summons | JPJ | Offences found at a JPJ check | MyJPJ app |
| Parking compound | The local council | Unpaid or illegal parking | The council's app or counter |
Parking is the easiest one to forget, because each council has its own system for paying for street parking. Our guide to parking in Kuala Lumpur explains how it works in KL and PJ. For the camera side, our guide to speed limits and AES cameras has the limits, and checking traffic summonses online walks through the apps.
Why ignoring one causes trouble for everyone
Unpaid summonses can get a vehicle owner blacklisted by JPJ, and a blacklist blocks road tax renewal and ownership transfers until the summons is settled. The Transport Minister gave owners until 1 January 2026 to clear old JPJ summonses before blacklisting and court action. For a rental company, one renter's unpaid speeding ticket can stop a car from being re-taxed, so expect any company to chase it.
A summons in your name also carries KEJARA demerit points on your own licence, and on a probationary licence too many points can cost you the licence altogether.
Can I just pay it myself before the company does?
Sometimes. If you know you passed a camera too fast, you can check the car's plate in the MyJPJ app or MyBayar PDRM in the weeks after your rental. A new summons may take a while to appear, and you'll need the car's plate number from your agreement. Tell the rental company if you pay one, so it isn't paid twice.
What if I wasn't the one driving?
With Grandpride, only the named renter may drive, so in the company's records the driver is you. If someone else drove, that's a breach of the rental terms on top of the summons, and it may also affect your protection CHECK: what happens to Basic Cover, LDW and Protection+ if an unnamed person was driving. If two of you want to drive, each needs a separate car booked in their own name from the vehicle list. Our guide on whether someone else can drive your rental car covers the other alternatives.
Do roadblocks check rental cars differently?
No. A rental car is stopped and checked like any other. Carry your licence, and an International Driving Permit if your licence needs one, and keep the rental agreement in the car. Our guide to police roadblocks in Malaysia explains what officers ask for.
The way to avoid all of this
Keep to the limit and park only where you've paid. And if a night out involves drinking, or a part of town where parking is a fight, leave the driving to someone else: a Grandpride chauffeur is booked by the hour, from 3 to 23 hours, and you never touch the wheel.
