Tag Archives: Highway

Indicators & Common Sense!

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(Sorry for the strong tone of the post below but seriously some people deserve it left right and centre and more)

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(How hard it is going to be to look into your mirrors, put on your indicators and when it is safe, change lane? We all learned this when we started driving but why the obvious laziness and recklessness now? Is it because you think you are driving on your grandfather’s road? That you all alone on the fucking highway and you can change lane at your whims and fancy without looking?)

Seeing idiots changing lane without indicators in this country is nothing new.

I was quite pissed off this morning of an idiot who decided to change lane just when I was about to pass him. I was sure that the idiot did not check for other vehicles in his rear mirrors before changing lane. Otherwise he would have seen me next to him and would have stopped in his tracks. And it was worse because I saw another car on the fast lane (probably “flying” at 200 km/h) in my rear mirrors and I knew that it was not possible (and dangerous) to move to the fast lane to completely avoid this idiot.

I was stuck in the middle lane with this idiot turning to my lane, no signal whatsoever, probably high on drugs called “idiocy” and me unable to move to the fast lane. There was no time and space to slow down – I horned and I high-beamed but this idiot continued to change lane (despite plenty of space on his lane). I move slightly to the fast lane but keeping enough space for the faster car to pass through. The idiot on my left probably woke up at the very last minute – he slowed down back to his lane and the idiot on my right probably missed me by inches. It was a miracle that it did not turn into a bloody mess in the morning otherwise I swear to God that I would bash up the idiot on my left to a pulp if it has been.

Unbelievable – how some people are when it comes to using their brains and doing the right thing.

Let me ask you bastards out there who rarely (or had never) use the indicator (and rear mirrors) whenever you are changing lane or turning into a junction a question. How much energy or time it takes for you fuckers to switch on the indicators? How much ah? If you think turning on your indicators is going to take a lot deal of your time and energy, you rightfully deserved to have your ass shoved with the sharp point of the indicator stick! It is not like it takes some kind of special skills to push up & down the indicator-stick (unless you are retarded in which case you should not be driving in the first place). It is not like the indicator switch is located at some hidden place that you need to spend hours looking for it. It is not like the operation of “looking into the mirror-put on the indicators-then change lane” is so complex and tedious – for God sake, it will only take a couple of seconds to do that!

And I know what you are thinking, yes I do. I am sorry to break this to you but contrary to what you have been thinking all this while, a majority of us do not have the magic skills to read one’s thought. We wish we could but unfortunately we are not mutants. We don’t have such powers. We won’t know what is your sorry piece of shit in your skull is thinking next. Perhaps it is still sleeping. Perhaps it  wants you to be bashed up for a good reason but is unclear how to go about it – if so just hang out a sign on your windows and we will be more than happy to do that to you.

And in case you are playing ignorant and arrogantly stupid, here are some basic tips when to use the indicators. Read them slooooowly and repeat reading them for a million times (perhaps more for some of you who have shit instead of human brains up there):-

  • Turning left or right
  • Negotiating roundabouts
  • Changing lanes
  • Overtaking parked vehicles
  • Overtaking cyclists
  • Joining motorway
  • Coming off motorway
  • When pulling out or moving off from parked position
  • Pulling over to stop
  • Signalling to emergency service vehicles
  • Remember to use before any braking not after as modern bright brake lights “overpower” indicators so they’re not noticed as easy (some morons uses them AFTER they had changed lane)

(Source)

It is not hard to remember this and to use them when it is appropriate (if it is, write down and paste it on your steering wheel or the windscreen or the forehead of your fellow passenger).

And whilst the Pakatan morons is fighting the implementation of AES in this county for dumbest reasons, quite number of idiots on the road are getting away with other traffic offences like not using their indicators before changing lane, using the emergency lane, not using a helmet, etc. When we are going to get some kind of enforcement system against these morons and for these offences? When we are going to pull them out from our roads and highways and send them to the gallows? Will it be challenged by the Pakatan morons too? The indicator-stick in your vehicle for a good reason. Have a good weekend and next time, please use your fucking common sense when changing lanes. Have some basic courtesy – indicate where you want to go and go where you have indicated.

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Slow Down to be Safe?

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(Which is better? Slowing down or enforcement of other rules like no queue jumping using the emergency lane? One of the morons that I caught on camera, abusing the emergency lane and creating more traffic jam upfront)

I am in a dilemma…

There is a family function to attend up North this week but considering the madness expected on the highways and byways in the next few days, I was wondering whether I should take the dip into the dip of madness as well. But if I don’t go the family function, well you know how it will end up when the next family function comes along. Anyway, I probably need to toss up a coin when it comes to decide the final decision.

Talking about the madness expected on Malaysian roads in the next few days, here is an interesting proposal from the Government on how they expect to lower the fatality statistics on the road:-

The reduction of the speed limit on federal and state roads by 10kph will be reintroduced during the Hari Raya period. The speed limit on federal roads has been reduced to 80kph from 90kph while state roads will now have a 70kph speed limit until Sept 6.

The speed limits on highways are not affected.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the reduction, first introduced in 2006, was aimed at reducing the number of road accidents.

(Source)

After the many bus accidents that caused the death of many Malaysians during the holidays and after many “bright ideas and proposals” by politicians who talked alot but who don’t do anything to get it enforced, the Government has now come out with this interesting “measure” to reduce the fatalities during festive season. But is simply slowing down means the roads are much safer now?

It is a fact that slowing alone does not mean you will be safe on the road. Simply because there are many other factors that contribute to fatal accidents. If one runs through this blog, you would have known some of the said incidents that I have encountered in the past few years.

Just this morning, I almost grazed another car on the fast lane when that idiot decided to change lane without putting up any indicators. And couple weeks ago, the same thing happen when a motorcyclist decided to cut in to the fast lane without any putting up any indicators or checking it was safe to cut-in in the first place. Not putting up the indicators when wanting to switch lane has been rather cancerous with Malaysian drivers. They seems to always think that fellow drivers is able to anticipate their every move and will simply give way when they suddenly cut in onto the path of on-coming car. It gets worse during bad weather – some idiots even do not switch on their headlights, making it a guessing game to accurately judge their distance (some idiots on motorcycle even do not have rear lights on a good day).

And what about the idiots that hog the fast lane, denying others who are faster than them to safely overtake them? How many of us who may have urgent matters to attend to, have encountered such idiots who seems to be enjoying a “leisure Sunday drive” on a Monday morning at peak hours on the fast lane? Don’t you feel like giving these idiots one hard slap on their face? Denied of the space to overtake, how many of us been forced to overtake these idiots from the left, sometimes dangerously whilst at the same time feeling angry and impatient – a feeling that lingers long after we have safely overtaken this idiot and arrived at our destination.

Then we have the famed idiots who at the slightest view of a traffic jam, cut over to the emergency lane and selfishly and arrogantly cutting queue. Where do we place these idiots in the aspect of ensuring that our roads are safer for rest of us? Traffic jams, sometimes also attributed to some slow road hoggers, is part and parcel of driving. It gets worse during the holidays for obvious reasons – too many cars on the road. You need to be patient and bid your time before continuing on to the destination. Everyone wants to reach their final destination as safe as and as fast as possible. Why should we give in to some idiots who simply don’t have the patience and is very selfish and arrogant? These idiots who quickly turn the emergency lane into their private lane to bypass other law abiding road users and by cutting in at the front (due to a broken down car or police block) causing traffic jam to be even worse.

There is a reason why an accident is known as “accident”. An accident is a specific, unpredictable, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects (Source). It is “unpredictable, unusual and unintended” – no doubt about that since if someone causes an accident intentionally (by knowingly breaking the traffic rules) and it causes someone to die, then it is not known as accident, it is known as murder or in some cases, manslaughter.

TheStar reported that for past 1 week, 117 deaths have been recorded – with no surprise, 60% of them being motorcyclists (perhaps it is how God plays his card in reducing morons on the road). I am pretty sure a good number of them did not have their helmets on. The call to reduce speed limit is good but it is only effective when enforcement of other traffic rules and ensuring that the punishment for “those stubborn ones” to be severe enough that they will not break the rules again.

So, you want to be safe? Don’t only slow down (to the correct speed!) but also keep to the correct lane and cut into the fast lane only when want to overtake others and do so when it is safe to do so. Use the indicators as part and parcel of driving and use it all the time. And never abuse the emergency lane – you never know when you will be involved in a serious accident with your loved one pinned down under the wreck and your life-saver, ambulance is stuck behind your fellow emergency lane abusers.

Selamat Hari Raya and happy holidays…

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Unnecessary Provocations

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Perhaps it was the one of the ways God test our patience…

(The “usual” queues at the toll plaza – the traffic moves faster if everyone queues up and wait for their turn. Imagine what happens if one idiot decides to drive between the proper queues and tries to cut in. Before you know it, another line had formed in between the 2 original lines and the traffic comes to a crawl. Image source: http://www.mobshare.in)

One of my “targets’ for this year is to keep my cool on the road – unfortunately, it was easier said than done.

I had to leave office early one day last week – I had to take my HEO to the clinic – and I know immediately that my journey back home would not be so stress-free. I know that the traffic jam would be insane and there would be plenty of motorists out there who don’t give a damn on traffic laws, simple courtesy or a sense of common sense and whether they were inconvenience to others and cared if they have caused the traffic jam even worse.

The traffic towards to the toll plaza was not so bad – there was easily identified queues formed at the toll plaza although it is high time for the toll operator to put up traffic cones to control the queue jumpers. I just needed to pick my line and patiently wait for my turn. Things was not so bad – the line was still moving albeit slowly. There were queue jumpers (as usual) but thankfully it did not happen to my lane. The queue jumpers has just made the other lane worse and brought it to a crawl and they are now itching to shift to the lane that did not have any queue jumpers and still moving.

It was still early in the evening as I paid the stressful looking lady at the toll booth and queued up on the lane that was merging with another lane which itself was merging with another at the front. Respectfully, the merging point was done quiet orderly – each lane took their turn to join and kept the lane moving on an orderly pace.

Not the idiot in a white Myvi at the back of my lane – she saw the small gap between the 2 lanes and suddenly pulled out to overtake the rest. She did not got far as the two lanes was quiet close to each other and there was no room to cut in further but by her idiotic act (she only managed to overtake 2 cars) she managed to slowed the 2 lanes down and for a moment, there was standstill (with domino effect to the traffic jam at the back).

Other drivers took a long look at this driver – we did not know what she intended to achieve with the queue jumping stunt in that small area. You tell me, how to keep cool when you are facing drivers like this – nothing much achieved but only to irritate others and make the traffic jam even worse. Despite the stares that this idiot was getting from the other drivers, this idiot was only interested in queue jumping again. Upfront she did it again.

I am pretty much lost with the logic – perhaps this driver was hoping to queue jump 1 – 2 drivers all the way, she could hope to jump ahead of the whole insane traffic jam. Ya, if I was that selfish driver, it would make sense. Who cares about others as long as I could get home probably 5 minutes earlier, right? 5 minutes earlier for this selfish idiot but half an hour for the rest who follow the rules? Yes, life is unfair but it does not mean the guilty one should be left to enjoy the fruit of their “crime”.

The good thing was that although the journey home remained challenging but it was not as bad as the situation at the toll plaza. There was less “provocations” at this part of the road.

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Craziest Thing 2011 – Part 1

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Read the prelude here

(Up north in the middle – Map source: Google Map)

Confucius says a journey of a thousand mile starts with a single step. Our journey of a thousand kilometers (well almost) started with the question – can we drive all the way from KL to Kota Bahru and return on the same day?

Why Kota Bahru? Last year, a buddy of ours was diagnosed with cancer and he went back to his hometown in Kota Bahru for treatment. Ever since then, we have been communicating via email and phone. Last Friday we got some photos from him and frankly speaking, he looked in a bad shape. Somehow deep down, we knew we need to see him face to face at least once to provide the moral support.

(If you driving through unknown roads and it is still dark when you started, this small device comes very handy. It tells you the right lane to take but more importantly, it shows you when is the next corner is coming in)

The journey was something unplanned – we talked about it on Friday afternoon and we started to check on “how to get there”. Google Map provided some clues – the shortest would be 454 km (one way) which expect us to take about 7 hours 27 minutes. Another clue we got was from the Malaysian Travel Guide website which provided clear checkpoints to get from KL to Kota Bahru. Armed with these 2 clues, we decided to go ahead with the trip.

The Journey to Kota Bahru

The day started early for us – I woke up at 4 in the morning. I suppose to meet up with my colleague (codenamed A1) at a petrol station near my house at 5 am. We ended up meeting up at the main entrance to my housing area. The time on the watch showed 5.17 am. The air was cool and the road was almost empty with traffic.

(It is still dark when we hit the Karak highway – in a way it was good because we could not see the deep ravines at the side)

As it was too early for breakfast (most shops were closed anyway), we first headed to NKVE to link up to the DUKE. From DUKE, we joined up to the road towards Karak Highway (or as some of us know the road towards Genting Highlands). There was one pit stop to be done before we continued with the journey. We stopped at a petrol station to fuel up (full tank took RM63) and to buy something to eat (my stomach was grumbling by now). It was 6 am by the time we were on the Karak Highway towards Genting Highland. The road was almost empty and we managed to get a good head start.

(It is 6.30 in the morning but it looked busy as we passed through Raub town)

We reached Raub town about 6.31 am and the town seems to be waking up to a slow Sunday morning. We had to drive through the town to exit towards Kuala Lipis. It was a bit confusing but the onboard GPS led us to the right path. After that, it was us all alone in the misty road towards Kota Bahru. We passed through the key checkpoints Kuala Lipis, Benta, Gua Musang, Kuala Krai and then to Kota Bahru. The onboard GPS told us to keep to Route 8 which was the main road towards the Kota Bahru.

(Straight empty road was God sent but the misty in the morning hides the view way upfront)

(Old roads had good corners but limited space at the sides. With secondary jungle on the both sides of the road, we were expecting a family of elephants to walk pass the road)

We reached Merapoh exit (about 245 km from KL) at about 8.33 am. Overall, the condition of the road has been good but occasionally we will come across section of the road full of potholes. We had breakfast at Gua Musang town (about 267 km from KL) at about 8.54 am. We probably would have spent about 15 minutes here. We decided not to venture far for breakfast (we were chasing time) and had to contend with an almost empty restaurant that only had fried noodles and some mix rice for breakfast. The taste was nothing to shout to about but perhaps it was clear that we were from out of town, the breakfast was not cheap.

(One of the perils on the Route 8 – trucks laden with huge timbers. This one is empty which makes it more inconvenient to overtake. These powerful trucks can be as fast as speeding cars on empty roads)

(Winding roads is great for cars with good pickup or heavy motorcyclists but when it comes to overtaking slow trucks on the corners, it gets tricky – around the corner, it could be nothing or it could be a huge truck screaming down the road)

We reached Felda Ciku (about 278 km from KL) at about 9.31 am and thereafter reached Kuala Krai (about 386 km from KL) at about 10.20 am. We were almost near to Kota Bahru. By now, the whole town had woken up and the traffic was bad. Thankfully there were more 2 lanes roads here for us to overtake the slower traffic without any sweat. At one point, we came to standstill but we soon were moving (some idiots decided that road works on a Sunday morning was a wise idea) and then somewhere else a trailer had broken down blocking one way. We reached the hospital where our colleague was admitted (about 453 km from KL) at about 11.36 am.

To be continued…

Reckless Livina Drivers

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This has to be one of the coolest thing I have ever seen on a highway (second to the time me and my friends “caught” a couple having sex whilst still on the slow lane of the highway but let me keep that for another time).

First, the photos – after all, “seeing is believing”, right? (photos taken on Saturday morning, towards North)

(All Whites! At first, we thought it was a new way of delivering new vehicles to their customers – some beautifully modified told us it was not. By the way, 3 Idiots are seen at the top – putting themselves and other road users at great danger)

(Whites Knights meet All Blacks – before we got bored with the whites, they caught with another part of the convoy which was made of all black colored Livinas. Somehow the blacks “behaved” themselves on the highway, keeping to the left lane of the highway)

(Blacks and whites were not the only color that we saw – further up, there was others colors too)

Kudos to the organizers – as I made to understand, it was organized with the participants from the Northern, Central and Southern regions. And it is not easy to get the over-zealous drivers in toe and keep the convoy formation in line. It was interesting to watch the various “colors” in a long straight line and plenty of things to chat during the night once we have reached our destinations.

But here is the sickening part of an otherwise brilliant stroke of organization – those Livina drivers, in their eagerness to keep in line with their same color comrades, completely ignored the rest of the road users.

(This was a very close call at 110 km/h! Ya, you indicate to cut in but you don’t bother to see whether there was enough gap to cut in. You simply cut in to join your friends on the left lane. I dreaded the thought when the 3 lane highway gets down to only 2 lanes and there is more of the heavy vehicles on the left lane)

(King of the road? By holding the sweeper position on the middle lane, you hog 2 lanes leaving the rest of the highway users to use the fast lane to cut the whole convoy)

They cut in very closely and most of the times, leaves very little room for maneuvering and overtaking. With 20 or so cars in a convoy hogging the left lane and occasionally the middle lane (when overtaking trucks and slower moving vehicles), these drivers drove as if the highway belonged to them and no one else. There was the fast lane but it was not easy to make the overtaking move especially when you have BMWs and Mercedes coming down screaming  at your rear of your car within seconds.

After a while, I had enough of driving rather dangerously next to the group, I decided to speed up and leave the group as far away as possible (they caught up when I made a “pit-stop” at the R&R but I managed to fly through before they managed to regroup and cause headache to others).

Cool but reckless at certain areas…

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