The recent deaths of five individuals from the same family on the Kuantan-Segamat road sometime last June prompted me to write this blog, after a hiatus from blogging for three months. A little bit of background on my driving experience - like most Malaysians, I obtained my driver's licence after completing high school, i.e. after sitting for my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) in Form Five. I had learned to drive using a manual transmission car and due to coordination issues I'd only managed to obtain my driver's licence after trying FIVE times in the practical driving test.
However, I did not immediately started driving right after I obtained my driver's licence because of coordination issues and also that Mom's car then was a manual transmission car, so my parents, especially Mom forbade me to drive this car as they were afraid I would land myself in trouble. And so my driver's licence was put in the cold storage for eight years. I only managed to muster the courage to REALLY drive in late 2001; but only with the supervision of Mom, after Dad changed Mom's manual transmission car to an automatic transmission one.
Apart from Mom supervising my driving sessions, I had to also undergo four sessions of a refresher course under the supervision of an instructor from a driving school to brush up my driving skills. Finally, I managed to gain enough confidence and courage to drive by 2002, and I have been driving myself often ever since. From early on, I have been instilled with the sense of responsibility and accountability by my parents in doing things like driving a car. Thus, when I get behind the wheel, I would make sure I do the necessary things so that I would have a safe journey when driving, also keeping in mind the safety of other road users I often encounter.
Throughout my almost 10 years of driving on Malaysian roads, I can conclude Malaysians are EXTREMELY RUDE, INCONSIDERATE and BLOODY EGOTISTICAL!!! Not to mention, they don't give any damn to their own and other road users' safety. This explains why Malaysia has an extremely high occurrence of road accidents, especially fatal ones. Driving is an activity that safety should be given the UTMOST PRIORITY because it involves human lives.
If these Malaysian drivers are not able to drive this message home (pun intended), it is sad to say that they are NOT FIT to drive at all. Yeah, as a Malaysian driver myself I DO have my fair share of negative habits when I'm driving. However, I try my best to keep these habits to a minimum level and make SAFETY MY UTMOST PRIORITY because I have this responsibility and accountability to other road users. Human life is valuable and I make an effort to remember other road users DO have family members like I do. Thus, my own safety and that of other road users is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and should not be taken lightly.
I strive to be a defensive driver at all times but this proved to be very difficult as most Malaysian drivers who are generally nice people would TRANSFORM into a PSYCHOTIC MANIAC when getting behind the wheel. Ultimately when this happens, anyone who comes in contact with these psychotic maniacs would find themselves to be in the risk of danger to the extent lives could be lost when road accidents happen. Not to mention, these psychotic maniacs tend to be road bullies TO THE BOOT!
A few weeks ago, I became a victim of road bullying. Mind you the road bully had the intention to KILL me if he could do it. It was written on the BASTARD'S facial expresssion. I was badly shaken from this incident because there was no way I could ask for help... the road I was travelling was rather lonely early in the morning. And help.... to ask for it was in the opposite direction from where I was travelling, I had no choice but to keep on driving until I reached my destination. Thank God, I was able to reach my destination safely, intact in one piece.
I can say that driving on Malaysian roads requires one to possess tough mental and emotional strengths, acute judgement, as well as excellent driving and manoeuvring skills. All these qualities should be acquired NOT at the expense of the SAFETY of oneself and that of other road users. It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that safety should always be emphsised when it comes to driving as it involves the lives of all road users.
However, Malaysian drivers are REALLY SLOW and EXTREMELY STUBBORN to learn from their repeated mistakes of behaving like a psychotic maniac when they are behind the wheel. It is because of this attitude that sadly, many lives are lost on the road everyday. The fatalities recorded each year by the relevant government departments illustrates Malaysia has one of the HIGHEST occurence of road accidents akin to that of or worse than countries that are at war or in political conflict where lost of lives is a daily occurence.
I guess this has got to do with the third-world kind of mentality of Malaysian drivers and by this I don't mean I have an excellent first-world kind of driver's mentality, but I DO make A CONSCIOUS EFFORT to practise what I preach. And I DO MEAN WELL for the people that cross path with me daily. Unfortunately, this is not always the case for the other people concerned when it comes to driving. Life is an EXTREMELY PRECIOUS God-given gift and we should make the best out of it for ourselves and when possible, for the people who cross path with us daily.
