Drivers

Here in Malaysia I have been driving for several months now. I have to say that overall. . the driving culture here is terrible.

It is a lot like Kentucky's driving culture, ironically.

This is my overall review of the driving here:

1. People seldom use turn signals to indicate the direction they want to go. They MIGHT use it AFTER they start to change lanes, however.

2. People seldom obey the speed limit. They also become angry or irritated if you obey the speed limit.

3. People never drive in a way that helps protect themselves. If they would just look ahead and behind themselves and adjust to the things around them, they would be safer.

4. Lanes are optional. People do not seem to understand that it is beneficial to stay inside the lane you are currently in. Frequently you will see drivers driving ON the lane lines.

5. Functions of the vehicle are NEVER checked. I can not believe how many cars I have seen that do not have correctly functioning lights.

6. Headlights are not necessarily important at night. I have seen a fair amount of people forgetting to turn their headlights on. Or, there are many cars with the bright xenon bulb type of headlights that I hate.

7. Flashing headlights behind you. Here people like to flash their brights at the person in front of them to show that you are in their way and you really need to get the hell out of their way, now.

8. Distance between cars. People here like to get too close to each other. Way too close. Even at highway speeds people still tailgate, including semi-trucks and buses! It is really scary! Even in wet conditions, or downhill conditions, they will stay too close to each other.

9. Rain does not affect driving speed necessarily. People seldom slow down much (if at all) in rain.

10. Cellular phones. I see lots and lots of people talking on phones or text messaging while driving!

11. Attitude. Here is the weird part. People here actively complain that the driving here is the government's fault. However, they do nothing to correct their OWN driving. Driving schools here take shortcuts to get you a license. I have heard it is a standard practice now to bribe the driving examiner, but this is not confirmed. It is also, I have heard, customary to bribe a police officer who pulls you over. The police force here is small and seemingly underpaid. In a small country with a small population this should be acceptable. However, when the people blame the government and the police for their own actions, that gets me. Even if the government makes a law, not a lot is done to enforce it, they do not have the manpower to pull it off.

This country has low taxes, so they do not have the funds to pull in more manpower like some other countries do. This is not necessarily bad. The only thing is that BOTH parties are to blame. The government should do its best to enforce the rules and prevent corruption, but at the same time, and more importantly, each driver should be doing their best to make THEMSELVES as safe as possible.

That all being said. I have been taking pictures of people who I considered to be driving exceptionally badly while I was out and about. Most of the pictures here are from when I was a passenger. A few are from when I was not. However, I took the ones when I was driving, when I was at a complete stop. :-)


A very bad bus, pushing people on the road at highway speeds!



The same bus from the side.















Sometimes the worst drivers you see on the road are taxi-drivers.