I used to enjoy driving. There’s nothing like having the liberating feeling of being able to go whenever you want to, whenever you want to. I enjoy the experience of it too. I enjoy feeling the acceleration of the car and feeling the handling of the car around the corners.
That was some time ago. I don’t enjoy driving anymore. Driving has become really stressful for me and it’s not really just the traffic in KL. It’s the certain type of drivers we sometimes see on the road that make a stressful time even more stressful.
Here’s a few:
1) The people who double and triple park around schools to wait for their kids.
Perhaps I haven’t had to send my kids to any of these schools yet so I can’t relate.
But I can tell you one school in KL that contributes very much to this. Kuen Cheng. The school’s entrance is off the Federal Highway. I don’t even know how that happened. How did a highway just get built in front of a school entrance? Or how did a school get built with a highway at its entrance? Whichever way it is.
As a result of this and inconsiderate parents, right before school starts and right after school ends, you’ll see cars double or triple parking at the entrance. Effectively making the 3 lane Federal Highway into a 1 lane trunk road.
Resulting in a massive traffic jam!
2) The motorbike who cuts in front of you at a traffic light only to ride very slowly once the light turns green.
You’re sitting in your car waiting at the front of a traffic light. The roads ahead of you are all clear and you’re looking forward to rolling down them the minute the light turns green.
Just before that happens though a motorbike cuts through from behind you and parks himself right in front of you. No big deal you think. Then when the light turns green he accelerates so slowly you look twice to see if he’s on a motorbike or a bicycle. Worst part is he doesn’t keep to the side. He sticks right in the middle until you give him a little honk.
3) The driver who don’t want to give way to you even if just letting one car go isn’t really going to change his position much.
It’s after work and the roads in the city are grid locked. You’re trying to turn out of your office into the main road. Even though you’re the only car and even though traffic is not moving, nobody on the main road wants to let you in. They fight you in a game of chicken till the bumpers of your car nearly make out before they back off.
4) The driver who insists on making an illegal U-Turn even if that means he’ll get stuck in traffic at the opposite direction and clog up the road.
You’re at the traffic light trying to make a right turn. The traffic at the opposite side of the road is not moving but you think… no matter. Fortunately you’re not going into the opposite direction. No no. You’ll be turning right off into freedom and no traffic.
Then as your light turns green the car in front of you tries to make an illegal U-Turn instead of turning right. As a result of that and heavy traffic he gets stuck. When he gets stuck, everyone else behind him gets stuck and when that happens, you get stuck.
You curse and swear and watch in anguish as the seconds tick by and your green light once again turns red. No amount of middle fingers would be able to express how you feel.
5) Drivers who think yellow lines mean “PARK HERE”.
Traffic is heavy at the intersection you’re at. You’re waiting for your light to turn green by watching the light of the perpendicular direction turn red. Finally it just turns red. That means your light is about to turn green too.
But surprise surprise! A driver on the other side decides to use whatever few yellow light seconds he has left to cross the intersection. Because it’s jammed on the other side he ends up sitting right on the yellow box area and blocking you. The light turns green but you can’t get across so you hammer the honk and try to cut to the right to avoid him.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space