Malaysian Road Sense and Nonsense

[kwchang]

TheEdge said the following in another Forum thread about our "Rediculous (sic) Traffic" - http://www.usj.com.my/bulletin/uploa...2612#post12612

The reason for the jams in Subang Jaya is probably the roundabout. Eversince they widened the roads leading to it, the volume of traffic has
increased while the roundabout is still 2 laned. I would suggest demolishing them and cover up the moonsoon drains so we could install "intelligent traffic lights" to smoothen the traffic flow. The roundabouts has been a bottle-neck for traffic from USJ and also Sunway for a long time.

I find that a lot of people are of the opinion that roundabouts are sources of bad traffic jams. However, this problem is purely due to the design of the roundabout's access roads and the mentality of the drivers on the road.

There are simple rules for drivers to follow - the most important being to allow RIGHT-OF-WAY to drivers coming from the right. Once this rule is followed, the roundabouts were shown to be able to handle higher volumes of traffic than traffic lights. It is saddening to note that our locals fight for every inch of space. This senseless "kia-su" attitude is the main cause of traffic jams. I hope you folks are aware of the little patterns on the roads in Taipan - they are actually meant to be mini-roundabouts. If road users followed the basic rule of right-of-way, I don't see why they cannot be useful.

Take a look at the following website at Drivers.com -

http://www.drivers.com/cgi-bin/go.cg...00334&static=1

Below are a few highlights from that website -

According to the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC), the era of modern roundabouts began in the United Kingdom in 1956 with the construction of the first "yield-at-entry" roundabouts. In 1966, a nationwide yield-at-entry rule launched the modern roundabout revolution. Australia and most other British-influenced countries soon built modern roundabouts.

"Yield-at-entry is the most important operational element of a modern roundabout," says the center, "but it is not the only one."

"The physical configuration of a modern roundabout, with a deflected entry and yield-at-entry, forces a driver to reduce speed during the approach, entry, and movement within the roundabout," the center says.

This is contrary to an intersection where many drivers are encouraged by a green or yellow light to accelerate to get across the intersection quickly and to 'beat the red light'

[xweird]

what constitutes a modern roundabout?

can we find any modern roundabouts in Klang Valley?

[jeffooi]

I remember Arnold Sw(can't-spell-his-name)nigger uttered this in
Terminator after observing how humanoids drive their cars:

Green: Drive.
Yellow: Drive faster.

That probably sums up the driver's mentality around us too.

[xweird]

I have glimpsed thru the pdf file on modern roundabouts. I must say that actually, roundabouts are a good system, with low operating costs and simple rules, and can handle higher volume of traffic.

All that remains now is to:
1) Change road user behaviour. Ensure that users stay at the correct land upon entry and in the roundabout, except when exiting. Yield to circulating traffic.

2) Ensure that entry points to the roundabout are properly indicated with the proper lines and yield signs (Beri Laluan).

3) Do not rush! Users, if you yield to traffic, instead of squeezing inch by inch into a roundabout, grid-lock will not occur.

4) By widening access points to the roundabout, the roundabout itself needs to be widened. Indicate lanes properly on the leg roads as well as the roundabout.

5) Driver education. Don't just let people pass driving test by memorizing jalan, side parking, slope and 3 point turn. Practical lessons must also include road ethics, safety and practicality.

6) Ensure roundabout roads are smooth, flat and free of potholes, so that users do not swerve or slow down to protect their cars from damage. Constant speed along the roundabout is essential.

Subang Jaya has 2 major roundabouts. Let's work together to get the best out of them. I will be patient today and practice what I have written above.

[joker2107]

all tools are only as good and as useful as the manner in which the user employs it. for all the good roundabouts offer, if users do not activate their cow sense but attempt to rule over others with their i-must-beat-you-at-all-cost mentality, all utility is put to waste.

i have personally stood in the rain directing traffic at roundabouts at least three times, the first two i locked my driverless car in the middle of a jam to clear the roundabout, and very recently, i abandoned my wife, kid and baby at the rothmans roundabout, pj, after being at a standstill for over 20 minutes. in the latest case, even as many other drivers were giving me the thumbs up and gesturing their appreciation, there were at least two IDIOTS or BLOODY FOOLS who did not hide their disgust over my confering the right of way to another vehicle.

yes, many local drivers are damned kiasus at roundabouts (and T-junctions whether or not there is a yellow box). the most simple basic rule - if you can't move, don't prevent others from moving - is a fallacy. we are such lousy losers that if we cannot move, we must make sure that all others also cannot move. then chaos results because every cannot move.

"yield-at-entry"? complex technical jargon like this are meant only for web sites which m'sians do not access.

[jeffooi]

THE SUN
Thursday, November 21, 2002

LETTER
No thrill in driving without lights

ONE gets the impression that motorists have been given the option to drive without lights at night. Of late,I have noticed ,ore cars being so driven during the night.

The attitude of drivers who prefer to be "unseen" is simply preposterous. I have tried drawing the attention of the the errant drivers but in vain.

These drivers are not only endangering themselves but the lives of other law-abiding road users.

Of course we cannot expect police to be around everywhere in anticipation of apprehending such drivers as they are not very common. Nevertheless, the rare ones are enough to cause much fear to other road users.

Ad if the problem is not nipped in the bud, chances are more cars may join the fray to enjoy the so-called fun and thrill doing it.

At the same time, it is not uncommon to see some drivers driving around at night with only one functioning headlight.

A few times I had presumed them to be motorcycles.

So fellow drivers, beware and be wary of such irresponsible drivers and please try to warn them of the potential danger they are posing to other road users.

Ragunathan Sundram
Petaling Jaya

[jeffooi]

THE SUN
Thursday, November 21, 2002

LETTER
Is it legal to 'jump queue'?

CAN the relevant authority please clarify if switching lanes which are separated by broken white lines is an offence?

I have seem many drivers doing it. It is probably part of the local driving culture for motorists to jump queue during a traffic jam or near a traffic light junction.

In many instances the drivers always cut in at the last minute to avoid waiting in line.

When one crosses a double or single continuous white line, I believe it is an offence. But what about when there is a broken line?

Whether it was a deliberate attempt to "jump queue" or a last-minute decision to turn (change lanes), can one be issued a summons?

Confused
Petaling Jaya

[xweird]

Not so sure about the legality of queue jumping, but it adds alot of stress to driving. Case in view: LDP Sunway toll plaza u-turn. Line up for 10-15 minutes, and some stupid idiot will cut into the line in front. Usually i squeeze very close to the front car, and allow the back car to squeeze near me so that the queue-jumper has no entry point into the line.

[jeffooi]

NEW STRAITS TIMES
Tuesday, November 26, 2002

LETTER
Irresponsible on the road


SPEED kills.

The greater the speed the more final and the more gruesome the kill is. To consider increasing speed limits without doing anything about safety on our roads is rather irresponsible.

Only a minority of Malaysian drivers actively practice defensive driving or understand safety on the roads. Consider what must now be our notorious motorcyclists. Motorcyclists when on the roads must ride within the marked road lanes, changing lanes and using proper signals when doing so, only when overtaking. Screaming in between moving four-wheeled vehicles, missing their wing mirrors by mere inches on either side is not a safe act even to the most imaginative of minds. Seat belts are not for the benefit of the law, but for the safety of drivers and passengers. Unstrapped car users, including children, are inherently unsafe.

Crash helmets, unstrapped, are completely useless to the wearer.

Road builders and designers ought to be mindful that they do not merely defer bottlenecks, as in the exit and entry ramps at Jalan Hulu Kelang.

Most ramps, like the ones into/out of Jalan Kuching to Jalan Tun Razak are one-way, yet they and like most roads in KL "mushroom" to two or more lanes during peak hours. This practice does not make the traffic move any faster.

Speed on highways: I was driving back to KL on the North-South Highway on Nov 17 and was doing 110 in the middle lane when a bus overtook me in the inner lane. I guess the driver does not care too much that buses and heavy vehicles are not supposed to overtake in the inner lanes of three-lane highways, nor are they supposed to drive in the emergency lanes like the same bus did a few kilometres later!

B.B.B.
Kuala Lumpur


SOURCE:
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/N...83708/Article/

[jeffooi]

NEW STRAITS TIMES
Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Standards of driving here almost non-existent

AS a United Kingdom “expat” consultant physician, nearing the end of a two-year contract in Kuala Lumpur, and a daily driver in this city, my comments on the lively correspondence concerning the speed limits for Malaysian roads may be of interest.

My wife and I have greatly enjoyed our life in Malaysia, but I shall not miss the traumatic experience of coping with the traffic here. Malaysians, normally a friendly, and considerate people, seem to undergo a personality change and develop a pair of horns as soon as they get behind the wheel of a car or ride a motorcycle! Standards of driving are not so much low as almost non-existent.

On one Sunday afternoon, driving from the Twin Towers area to Damansara Heights, I encountered no fewer than three recent accidents within 20 minutes. I am not an expert on the science of traffic regulation, but I would like to make the following suggestions:

# As long as traffic rules are regularly flouted with impunity, accident statistics will continue to deteriorate. The laws are there — they must be enforced. The tens of thousands of unpaid fines that we read about are a scandal.

# Road safety and respect for road laws should be taught at school. In residential districts I often see children riding bicycles on the wrong side of the road and it is at this age that the "Malaysian mentality" towards driving, referred to by my policeman patient, takes root.

# The present speed limits should remain. The fact is that speed kills. It is recognised to be the single most frequent cause of traffic accidents — even greater than alcohol abuse in European countries. Negligent driving is also an important cause, but if speeds are kept down, the consequences of careless mistakes are minimised.

As for the correspondent who apparently seriously advocated that "luxury cars" should have a different speed limit from others, I am grateful to him. He has inadvertently provided me with material for light-hearted after dinner speeches after my return to the UK!

Dr MALCOLM W. GREAVES
Kuala Lumpur


SOURCE:
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/N...83622/Article/

[xweird]

Another issue is the drivers that don't follow the lanes painted on roads. Case in view: Sprint Highway just after exiting Damansara toll from NKVE. In the morning 8am, cars just squeeze anywhere they find some space. 2 lanes become 4, with cars using the emergency lane to squeeze their way to the front. And how much time do they save? 2 minutes?

Another one is the non-conformance to double lines. Double lines are painted so that cars don't weave in and out of lanes where 2 roads join to one. E.g Motorola interchange in front of Bali. Cars coming from Sunway pyramid turn left toward Motorola, but cut out to LDP instead of going down to the traffic lights despite there being double lines painted.

[kwchang]

Some Malaysian drivers have cow brains or maybe cow-dung as gray-matter.

Remember the buffalo that got stranded for 12 hours just because it thought it could hop over a highway barrier to cross the highway? Remember the numerous mishaps with cows crossing the brand new North South PLUS Highway just because it transcended the normal pathways of the cows who normally wander to their grazing grounds?

For some of our drivers, an opening on the road means an exit - regardless of the road markings or even road signs (no-entry, no-right-turn).

I remember with glee once upon a time when an idiot got stranded over a low road divider just because he thought he was smarter by driving his jalopy over it to make a U-turn. How I wish I had a camera then!

[CH]

All of us should be familiar with the road leading out besides the multi story car park, it is a one way road.

When I sent my daugther for her doctor visit last night 26/11, 7:45 pm, I saw a Pajero putting up a signal and turn in to that road - against the no entry sign.

Not sure what happen after that as I am driving and looking for parking ...

But I can imagine that the Pajero will be facing a line of honking cars and force to reverse back out and on the way, block another flow of traffic and wasted another round of man hours with many people blow off their temper...

[edteam]

THE STAR
Saturday, November 30, 2002

Emergency lane users to be ‘detained’

KUALA LUMPUR: Motorists caught using the emergency lanes on highways during traffic jams under the on-going Ops Sikap will not only be slapped with summonses but will also be “detained” by the police until the traffic clears.

Federal Traffic police chief Senior Asst Comm II Datuk Ahmad Bahrin Idrus said the move was to ensure that law-abiding motorists who had been patiently waiting in the jam for a long period of time were given priority.

“It is only fair for us to do so. Motorists should not think that just because they have been booked they can then continue their journey,” he said.

SAC Ahmad Bahrin said his officers had been instructed to carry out the directive and not be lenient with anyone as the emergency lane was strictly for use in emergency situations.

He said the police were forced to take such drastic action because inconsiderate motorists had blocked police vehicles, ambulances and fire engines responding to emergencies.

He added that these service providers would not be able to respond to emergencies quickly during jams, thus risking the lives of victims.

SAC Ahmad Bahrin said the police would deploy a patrol car for every 50km stretch during off-peak hours and three cars and two motorcycles during peak hours.


FULL STORY:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...nes&sec=nation

[joker2107]

me can't stand em folls who run the emergency lanes like a F1 track. but i guess that 2 wrongs don't make a right still holds true, especially if the 2nd wrong is committed by a law enforcement agency. the cops've gotta study in depth their right to "detain" drivers.

once when some dude stopped me for supposedly making an illegal u-turn he drove me up the wall with dillydallying. i turned the tables on him and told him that if he wanted to issue me a summon he should hurry up else i'm gonna put the cuffs on him for illegal detention. i got my license back immediately and of course no summons. our parting words - he asked me where i worked and i replied that it would be too late for him to find out. yeah, he might have claimed a right to see my ic and licence but to know my background - go change job and become my banker first buddy.