It’s
always wise to be prepared and this article is aimed at identifying
a few aspects of driving in Malaysia which may be different from
those previously experienced by newly arrived expatriates. It is
hoped that this will help the newly arrived expatriate get a head
start on the things they should be looking out for when they get
behind the wheel of their new car. While some of the tips apply
to many countries,several are much more common in Malaysia.
It is only a few years ago that the local media was full of stories
about the large number of Malaysians who had never taken their test
but instead had purchased their driving licenses. Nowadays the driving
licence rules are much more strictly enforced but possible some
of the habits described may be
attributable to the fact some drivers never learned the rules.
I have met several expatriates who say they are afraid to drive
outside Kuala Lumpur and this is a big mistake. Malaysia is a beautiful
country with an excellent highway infrastructure and most roads
are in good condition and not too crowded which makes them exceptional
in Asia. The completion of the North South highway allows you to
travel from Singapore to Thailand on a first class road. Even off
the highway the secondary roads are usually in good condition but
it is wise to be on the lookout for bad spots or unexpected road
repairs.
It doesn’t take long to learn that there are a lot of motorcycles
on the roads of Malaysia and while this is not uncommon in Asia
it’s much more unusual in western countries so it’s
worth learning a few things about them. My first four tips concern
getting used to some practices of motorcyclists.
Tip No 1) The Speeding Motorcyclist.
If one forgets how young people think they cannot die it is
easy to believe some motorcyclists have a death wish. Certainly
there are rather a large number of motorcyclists who seem unaware
and/or unconcerned about the very high death rate among motorcyclists
in this country - more than half the road deaths are motorcyclists.
He (they are usually young and male) will pass your car on either
side, often very close with the small motorbike engine screaming
at maximum revs, and then swerve in front of you to change lanes,
exit or just test his driving skills. This can be quite unsettling
(for which read ‘bloody annoying’) but sounding your
horn and screaming abuse will be wasted as he will be long gone
and anyway the wind in his ears will prevent him hearing anything.
Tip No 2) The Motorcyclist at traffic
lights. At traffic lights when you just miss the
green light and console yourself that you are first in line for
a quick get away when they turn green, don’t expect it to
happen. It is very likely your car will soon be surrounded by a
large number of motorcyclists all revving their engines for a grand
prix getaway while some of the less powerful bikes, often overloaded
with passengers struggle to get moving again often right in front
of you. All of which means you will need to expend some effort to
avoid hitting any of them even though the temptation may be to leave
your hand on the horn and drive straight through them.
Tip No 3) The Motorcyclists Rear Light.
All motorcyclists in Malaysia are required to drive
with their lights on all the time. While most will quickly discover
if their front light does not work the rear one can often be out
for a while. It is necessary to bear this in mind when driving at
night or other times when there is poor visibility.
Tip No 4) Motorcyclists, Rain and
Bridges. As most new arrivals quickly learn the
rain in Malaysia can be extremely heavy and it only takes a few
seconds to get very wet. Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable
and the practice in Malaysia is to shelter under the nearest bridge.
Obviously this can add up to quite a few motorbikes under one bridge
and it is very common to find the slow lane full of parked motorbikes
when you enter a tunnel or go under a bridge. If the rain is very
heavy you may only see them at the last minute with potentially
disastrous consequences. The rule is try not to enter a tunnel or
bridge in the slow lane unless you can clearly see there are no
bikes waiting there.
Tips No 5) Red Traffic Lights Don’t
Always Mean “Stop”. If the traffic lights
have just changed many cars will carry on through them. This practice
has decreased somewhat since cameras were installed at many lights
in KL but nevertheless it still happens so be careful if you are
approaching a light that has just gone green. Motorcyclists will
often go through any red traffic light so it’s worth bearing
that in mind if you are travelling rapidly towards a traffic light
that has just turned green.
Tips No 6) The Slow Lane is Not For
Cars. Very few Malaysian drivers are willing to
drive in the “slow” left hand lane on a three lane road.
Most will drive happily in the middle or even the fast lane. While
it has been explained to me that this is because of motorcyclists
the reality is I have often seen
completely empty inside lanes which had no traffic of any kind as
far as the eye could see. This of course encourages many drivers
to overtake on the inside lanes and this is quite a common practice
in Malaysia.
Tips No 7) The Aging Trucks.
There are still some very old trucks (lorries) on the road. In the
last few years many larger more powerful trucks have been introduced
onto the Malaysian roads but there are still plenty of the older
ones around. You can recognise them as they often have either half
a door or no door at all. These lorries usually travel slowly and
going up a hill they travel so slowly the casual observer would
be justified in thinking they have actually stopped so exercise
caution when coming up behind a truck on a hill - the gap may close
much more quickly than you expect. Trucks will sometimes break down
and there will be no warning sign behind the truck such as a hazard
sign or flashing lights. At night they may have no lights on particularly
if the engine has packed up. One expatriate wife was killed when
she drove into the back of one of these stalled trucks.
Tips No 8) Joining The Major Road.
One of the most common practices in Malaysia is not to pause when
coming out of a side road. It would be fair to say that in Malaysia
many drivers ask themselves only one question “can that driver
stop his car before hitting me if I don’t stop and pull out
in front of him”. If the answer is “yes” then
many will keep going. So do not be surprised when a car suddenly
approaches a side street in front of you and does not even pause
before pulling out in front of your car.
Tips No 9) The Road Bumps.
Most countries use the system of road bumps to deter speeding traffic
in residential areas, but there are a couple of practices which
are less common. First, in Malaysia they are not limited to purely
residential side streets. You will find them on regular bus routes.
The second warning concerns quality control. The bumps vary from
a minor rise which you could safely speed over to major inclines
which can do your car serious damage. Usually these are preceded
by a sign and painted with yellow stripes but when new bumps are
installed or the road has been resurfaced expect a delay of several
days before they are painted again. During that time you could entertain
yourself watching cars smash the bottom
of their cars against them. If you look at any higher road bumps
you will always see deep gauges where cars have torn into them.
Tip No 10) The Highway - Long Distance
Buses. Long distance buses pose another problem.
The upgrading of most bus fleets has substantially reduced the belching
black fumes they used to emit but the drivers sometimes seem to
be just as bad. Some still drive as though their size justifies
any action they take. Sadly this country experiences quite a regular
number of terrible bus accidents which suggests that more work needs
to be done on either the quality of the buses or the drivers or
both. It is not at all uncommon for buses to decide to overtake
when they choose without consideration for you approaching rapidly
in the fast lane. Of course it’s not just buses that do this
but they can be more intimidating.
Tips No 11) The Highway - Driving
in the Fast Lane. Which is the fast lane? The answer
of course is the right lane but some drivers, once they have settled
into it, will not leave it and when you come up behind them, no
end of horn blowing or flashing lights will move them. You will
then have to decide whether to break the law and pass them on the
inside or wait patiently behind them. Even those that know they
should move back to the slow lane after overtaking will rarely move
back until they have passed every vehicle in their field of vision.
This can be rather frustrating but again horn blowing and flashing
lights will rarely encourage them to move back until their mission
is accomplished.
Tips No 12) Passing on the Inside.
It is not uncommon for some drivers on motorways who confront the
above two practices, to not even attempt to get the vehicle in front
to move out of the fast lane. They will just pass on the inside
without indicating their presence at all so if you find that you
are retur?ning to the slow lane a little later than you should have
done always check the inside lane or you may end up being hit. This
rule is equally important on other roads and especially when turning
left as motorbikes can often appear from nowhere in your inside
lane and many expats have ended up hitting them.
Tips No 13) Blinking Hazard Lights
Doesn’t Mean I’ve Stopped. In many counties
putting on all four blinking lights indicates that you have stopped
your car. In Malaysia it is quite common for drivers to do this
when they drive slowly in heavy rain, apparently at one time the
government suggested this. Some motorists will also put on their
hazard lights in preference to side lights when they enter a tunnel.
Tip No 14) A Queue of Cars Must be
Passed. Whenever there is a line of cars stopped
in a jam you can expect to see some drivers looking for an opportunity
to jump the queue so expect a single lane to become three lanes
quite quickly if there is any space on the inside lane or outside
lane to pass. Cars will even move into the oncoming lane to pass
cars stuck in a jam and when the inevitable car comes the other
way they just force their way back or squeeze closer to the cars
they are passing. It is rare indeed to hear much protest from Malaysian
drivers. Try acting like that in the UK, Australia or the States
and check the reaction.
Tips No 15) Never Walk if There is
Space to Park. Malaysians generally are not keen
on walking and given the hot weather it does not take long to understand
why. Unfortunately this means that when there is no legal place
to park they will park illegally. If this just meant they parked
in a restricted place that has little impact on other drivers, however
it can often mean double parking or parking in positions which do
severely disrupt traffic and that can be very annoying. The introduction
of tow trucks in KL and PJ was done to stop this habit but despite
large numbers of cars being towed away there is so far little evidence
of any behavioural change. It can be really irritating to return
to your legally parked car and find that someone has blocked you
in. Even worse is when your furious horn blowing does not produce
the driver and you have no choice but to leave your car or wait
until he has finished whatever he is doing. Do not expect any apology
when the driver returns because this habit is so ingrained that
in certain areas like Bangsar Baru you will always see double parkedcars.
Tip No 16) Baby Sits Up Front.
Some expatriates are appalled to see people holding their baby in
the front seat or young kids standing on the front seat. So please
remember if you hit another car or force a car to break very quickly
you may end up causing a lot more injury to an innocent child than
would have resulted if you had the same accident in a western country
where child seats are the law.
Tip No 17) Big Brother Is Watching
You. In the last ten years the police have installed
a lot of cameras to catch cars breaking the speed limit, watch for
traffic congestion and find people who jump red lights. The cameras
near traffic lights are usually very visible but those on the highways
are much less likely to be seen. The police use a combination of
road blocks and cameras to catch speeding drivers. The fixed cameras,
often located under bridges will result in you receiving a written
summons several weeks later. The speed cameras used by police when
they set up roadblocks on the highway are now being set up long
distances before the road block, often over 20 kilometres before
the police wave you down. This has been done in response to the
practice of Malaysians coming in the other direction flashing their
headlights to warn drivers about impending police roadblocks. By
the time you reach the drivers who are flashing their headlights
you are probably already booked!.
Tip No 18) Go For The Space.
Quite a bit of traffic congestion could be avoided if people thought
through what is causing a jam or used their rear view mirror to
see if they need to move their car to alleviate congestion behind
them. Both these practices are very rare in Malaysia. Leaving spaces
for cars to exit or enter a side street will only happen if there
are yellow lines painted on the road and even that is no guarantee.
If you need the driver ahead to move forward a few inches so you
can get out of the jam or make space for another car to move it’s
unlikely to happen without a lot of horn sounding and even then
don’t bet on it. If you are trying to exit a side street into
a slow moving stream of traffic do not expect anyone to stop and
let you in, you will have to force your way out as soon asa gap
presents itself.
Tip No 19) Two Laws that May be Different
from Your Own Country. In many countries you can
use a hand phone while driving. In Malaysia this is against the
law and only hand-free kits are permitted. The other law which is
different from some countries (like the United States) is that you
are not permitted to turn (left) at a red light.
Tip No 20) Drive Around the City During Major Festive Holidays.
One time when it is wise to stay off the highways is during Hari
Raya and Chinese New Year when hundreds of thousands of Malaysians
‘ balik kampong’ meaning return to the village. Although
some fly and many take the train, the roads also fill up. Those
that see these holidays as a chance to discover the countryside
may find the speed of progress gives them more time than they wish
to examine the landscape. This is a good time to drive around the
city for some sightseeing and photography because you should find
the city streets pleasantly deserted.
Well that’s my list and I expect to receive feedback from
some expatriates about other the things I left out and no doubt
comments from Malaysian friends about the appalling driving habits
of some expatriates. As I said at the beginning this is intended
to make newcomers more aware of the potential hazards on the road
and certainly not to make people afraid to drive in Malaysia.
Over the last 15 years I have driven hundreds of thousands of kilometres
on Malaysian roads and despite some very close shaves I have more
scratches from leaving my car parked than driving around the country.
There is so much beautiful scenery and interesting places to go
that, it is a real loss if you do not get out and see it.
Of course there are many Malaysians who are equally upset by the
driving habits of their fellow countryman so this article does not
mean to suggest all Malaysians are guilty of those habits which
constitute dangerous or inconsiderate driving. Certainly the authorities
are taking increasing steps to reduce road fatalities and punish
those that break the rules.
So now you have a few basic guidelines get out there and explore
your home away from home. |