Who's gonna drive you home?

Fellow comrades,

"We are bad drivers" screams the New Straits Times headline today (check it out at http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Tuesday/Frontpage-/20061212075715/Article/index_html) The 'we' part encompasses all Malaysians. Obviously, it's a hyperbole. Not all Malaysian drivers are bad. Only most of them are. Just today, as I was reversing my car from a parking space, a motorcycle carrying two helmet-less persons of subnormal intelligence almost rammed into the left-side of my car as they ran through a "No Entry" sign on another road. They managed to swerve just centimetres away from my car's boot and evade what could've been a fatal accident on their part. Honestly though, I wish it had happened. Just two more imbeciles gone; nobody would miss them. If there's one thing that makes me depressed coming back for the holidays, it's the Malaysian drivers. It doesn't matter what they're driving. A survey conducted in Britain found that owners of BMWs are the worst (check it out at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/06/nbmw06.xml). Not here. Malaysians, or more precisely most of them, are bent towards breaking every traffic law there is no matter what they're driving. The sight of them double parking, running through traffic lights and, particularly, changing lanes without signalling makes me cringe. It makes me wonder how come most Australians, especially Canberrans, are the complete opposite. Where else can you find motorists stopping at red lights at 2a.m. in a secluded road with no other car in sight? One thing I notice is how they are willing, almost eager, to let you pass through first, with a smile on their face and a wave of their hand. All you have to do is return the gesture to show some gratitude. In Malaysia, what you get if you're passing through is the other car inching ever closer as you try your best to squeeze in front of it. The driver in the other car will readily frown and, if his hands are not busy holding a handphone or a cigarette or both, gesture obscenely. All you have to do is smile and wave at him, lest you return his gesture which will result in you becoming part of the statistics: 70 killed in 880 accidents a day. A study conducted by the Quality Planning Corporation found that in the United States, students are the worst drivers. They top the list as being involved in the most accidents and also receiving the most speeding tickets. Although architects are also in the top five in both lists (check it out here http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/30/pf/autos/bad_drivers/index.htm). What, are they all trying to help their brothers "break" out of "prison" now?

The solutions suggested by so-called professionals are to review instructions at driving schools, reduce licence fees, extend minimum hours required driving before the test and to teach them defensive driving. None of this will ensure a lasting impact on bad drivers. Once they get their licenses, they'll forget everything they learned in driving school. My solution is this: harsher punishments and more enforcement. Put it simply, "fear" is the keyword here. Malaysians need to be frightened. Did you say "civil liberties"? You must be Australian or from some other modern, Western, developed country. I guess it's hard for you to fathom, but the fear of God needs to be instilled into the minds of most of my backward, Eastern, developing countrymen for them to abide the law. It's up to the legislators and officers of the law to threaten them. Say you'll ban them from driving, or you'll take their cars, or you'll put them away where the sun don't shine. Anything that will make them think thrice, do it. A smile and a friendly gesture while doing so wouldn't hurt. That's all for now, folks.


Godspeed,
Fadli