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 beattributable 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.
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ips 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 seencompletely 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 bottomof 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.
