At that time, vehicles were all imported into our country. When the famous beetle shaped vehicle was introduced here by its agents Champion Motors, believe it or not, it was sold at less than RM10,000. The Volkswagen Polo costs more than RM250,000 today. Das Auto Motors is its agents in Malaysia today, while its original agent then Champion Motors was located in Kuala Lumpur. It has since wound up its business here in this country.

Later, Japanese makes of vehicles began to make its appearance into the Malaysian market. Models such as Datsuns, Toyotas began to make its headway into the lucrative motoring industry of our newly independent country, Malaya which later on was to become Malaysia in 1963. Datsuns were imported by Tan Chong Motors. Toyota cars came under the franchise of Toyota Motors until today.

From a being nation which used to import its cars initially, Malaysia advanced into first of all locally assembling its cars here. Datsuns and Toyotas were some of the vehicles that were assembled. Cars became cheaper as a result.

But locally assembled vehicles became not only cheaper, unfortunately the standard of such cars fell or deteriorated as a result. Consumers became wary about locally assembled vehicles. They began to prefer imported cars which were costlier but of better quality. They were more reliable. Its parts were said to be longer lasting and more reliable.

In the later years, under the Dr. Mahatir era to be exact, Malaysia became a nation interested in not only assembling motor vehicles of its own, Malaysia became a country that was to produce its own national car imitating America, Germany or England.

As a result, Proton Holdings Berhad was inaugurated. In the beginning, most Protons cars used imported parts which were from Japan. But soon, Malaysia slowly moved towards more and more of using local made parts.

Locally produced parts such as brake pads, seats which were made of coconut husks instead of springs and rubber which were found in conventional cars from Germany, England and America. As a result of many locally produced parts being used, locally made Proton cars lacked the quality and were said to be unable to last long. Quality control of the cars produced caused consumers a lot of problems.

I once owned an imported model of a Toyota Corolla DX, which was produced in 1980. Until around 2008, when the above car was finally disposed off, believe it or not, the odometer never gave any problems at all. Comparing it to a Proton Saga 1300c.c. car which I happened to own for a few years, I had to change the odometer, fuel meter and other assorted meters found on the dashboard, a total of at least 3 times. And the above meters, I tell you, were not cheap. They in actual fact, costs nearly RM200.

Malaysians who used to use locally produced vehicles by Proton Malaysia used to be told, if one should fail to hear rattling sounds from a Proton car, then it is believed it is not a Proton car at all. But all these perceptions have since changed.

According to Proton’s Group Managing Director, Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, the lifetime warranty for Proton’s power window is limited to 250,000 km or 10 years from the date of the vehicles registration, whichever comes first. Proton Malaysia is providing this warranty as it intends to encourage customers to fully use the power window unit extensively. Should any problem exist, Proton will guarantee to fix it free of charge.

According to the Proton authorities, the 250,000 km is consistent with global standards of the average lifespan of a vehicle. What is the reason for Proton coming out with such a warranty?

Proton cars have been associated with the belief that the national car has always been noted for its power window failures previously. This perception regarding poor power window performance of Proton cars have in fact given Proton cars a rather bad image.

Syed Zainal, Proton’s Managing Director further added newer Proton models are now free of any power window maladies. Pertaining to Proton’s power window woes, this problematic issue was addressed as far back as 2006 or 2007. All Proton models have since not had any such power window problems since then.

Meanwhile, Proton will invest some RM3 million over the next 10 years. This move will eventually go on to benefit some 450,000 Proton owners that still qualify for the manufacturer’s warranty.

It should be kept in mind that the Proton warranty for power window units is only applicable to Proton car models sold in the domestic market only. It should also be noted that 4 main components for the power window unit, which encompasses the door regulator, power window motor, power window switch and also the run channel are involved.

With Proton’s latest campaign on power windows, it is hoped will go a long way in redeeming Proton’s image in the Malaysian motoring market. Kudos to Proton Holdings Berhad for its concerted efforts!

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Furthermore, a brand new vehicle or car would be capable of providing you with better mileage consumption. On the other hand, I also reiterated, a second hand vehicle has its advantages as well. It’s cheaper and therefore requires less finance to purchase. It’s also less prone to be stolen as well.

But if you think owning an old car, especially one that’s more than 10 years old, is all a bed of roses, then you are sadly mistaken.

First of all, allow me to inform you one thing, just in case you are unaware brand new vehicles for one thing, requires 1st Party Insurance coverage. It can cause lots of headaches for the owners. Therefore, we should not always envy those who own posh, new vehicles. They in fact face many problems too.

While going up the hill of Genting Highlands, my “haram” or illegal taxi driver friend, Encik Johari, 55, saw a BMW 5 series car overtaking us at great speed. In a twinkling of an eye, the BMW had disappeared up the steep slopes near the Cradle Rock.

Do you know how much the BMW 5 series cost? Johari asked of me. When I replied in the negative, my friend answered, over RM550,000! I immediately suffered a massive headache.

But is it true that owner of old vehicles or 2nd hand ones have not much to worry about as compared to those who own brand new and posh vehicles? Let’s contemplate about it.

Every year, when the time comes for old vehicle owners to renew their mandatory road tax and insurance cover for such vehicles, they in fact face a lot of problems. Ask any of the owners who own vehicles that are over 10 or 15 years old and you’ll know what I mean.

On the 12th of October, 2011, the Star reported in a headline “No Age Limit For Vehicles”. If you are an owner of an old vehicle like me, tarry a while longer. Don’t jump for joy just yet! Read further a little bit more.

At the bottom, it continued, “Inspection for road worthiness a must”, says Deputy Transport Minister, Abdul Rahman Bakri.

Permit me to quote the full text of what the above minister said. Readers can thereafter make your own conclusion. Decide for yourselves whether the authorities are pulling the wool over our eyes or otherwise.

The full text is as follows: -

There shall be no age limit for vehicles. All well and good. But all vehicles must undergo inspection to determine their roadworthiness before being deemed safe for use. However, the government will not impose any age limit on them.

Furthermore, Deputy Transport Minister, Abdul Rahim Bakri went on to tell the Dewan Rakyat that the Transport Ministry has no plan to enforce a vehicle disposal scheme like in Singapore. One good and pertinent point about old vehicles was that the main cause for accidents was speeding. Age of a car was not a contributing factor at all.

But what I would like to comment on what the government just recently announced about the inspection of old vehicles is this “Does the authorities realize why the majority of kampong people or village folks, senior citizens and those of the lower income group opt for old and 2nd hand vehicles?

The answer is plain simple. They just cannot afford new cars. Having owned old rickety bone shaking vehicles, how do the authorities expect the above said group of poor people to upkeep these old vehicles and send them for a compulsory test yearly by the Puspakom authorities’ inspection exercise?

As a driving school instructor for well over 42 years, I have sometimes involved myself in the inspection of cars for friends too. Permit me to quote you the cost of attempting to send a private vehicle for yearly inspections.

Very roughly, the cost of sending your vehicle at Puspakom inspection centres, whether at Sg. Manggis, Banting, Padang Jawa, Klang or anywhere else, are as follows:-

i. Runner or middle man fees or charges can easily amount to RM100 – RM150.

ii. Insurance for 1st Party Insurance coverage currently total RM550 – RM650 for RM14,000 1st party coverage. On top of that, a motorist is forced to buy a compulsory RM10,000 Personal Accident Policy from the company which is willing to cover your old vehicle. This comes to about RM100.

iii. Of course, one can opt to go to the post office to secure your insurance coverage. This writer understands 1st party coverage are cheaper there. My elder brother, B.H. Yap tells me he recently obtained his old car’s insurance / road tax at RM100 less as compared to insurance companies privately owned.

Old cars being sent for inspection must ideally be in fairly condition. As such things, as I list down below should be attended to:

a) 4 new tyres will cost approximately RM100 x 4 = RM400

b) A vehicle’s brakes system will have to be serviced prior to its being checked by Puspakom authorities and it costs RM80 – RM100.

c) Paintwork touch up service for an old vehicle’s bodywork will cost RM100 approximately.

d) Wipers, horns, brake lights, indicators, all these will have to be in good, working order. The cost for replacing these can easily reach a sum of RM40 – RM50.

e) An old vehicle’s ball joints, suspension system, and undercarriage, wheel balancing and alignment procedures all have to be checked carefully if it is expected to pass Puspakom’s stringent 5 point examination, cost for the above repair mentioned, it is believed will come to approximately RM200 – RM250.

f) The inspection fee charged for inspection by Puspakom is RM50 per test. Subsequent tests are normally charged RM25.

All in all, an old vehicle or 2nd hand vehicle, which is more than 10 years of age, will need anything from RM1,000 – RM2,000 if it is expected to pass the 5 point inspection test conducted by Puspakom. Only then will an owner obtain the B5 certificate which will then enable him to secure his road tax disc from the Road Transport Department.

It is indeed going to be a big hassle for owners of old vehicles if they are to be forced to send their vehicles for inspection every year. Think about it carefully.

Won’t it be a better idea just to write off the old junk you are now possessing and buy another newer car rather than sending it for inspection at Puspakom! The authorities should consider carefully if what they intend to do is something viable or otherwise.

Anyway, even though my suggestion is good, it would be rather an impossible task to implement. The public will without a doubt make a hue and cry over it if indeed it is carried out.

The situation today is very much different. Malaysian police today are using the latest equipment to nab motorists who speed. They have the help of H.D. or high definition cameras!

Speed cameras called LT120-20 Tru which are said to be capable of capturing very sharp images are being used. If can even show clearly registration numbers of speeding vehicles.

Malaysian motorists who are caught speeding along our expressway, have all along challenged the police and J.P.J. summons issued. Even in the courts, there is not enough conclusive evidence to prove that a motorist has been speeding. All these will end soon.

Tens of thousands of the 285,000 motorists found speeding within the last four months of 2011, have been caught by the newly acquired 5 H.D. cameras and other 36 laser speed detectors.

Permit me to unfold to you some of the TruCam specifications and you will know what I mean. Then, decide for yourself whether you can escape from its clutches or otherwise. The LT120-20 TruCam sophisticated specifications include:-

i. Speed range: 0km/h – 320km/h

ii. Temperature range: 10°C – +60°C

iii. Maximum distance: 1,200m

iv. Measurement time: 0.33 seconds

v. H.D. image of speeding vehicle is captured and its speed detected using laser technology.

vi. The image of the offender’s vehicle is cropped out of the original picture, attached to the summons and sent to the vehicle owner.

The LT120-20 TruCam is said to be able to identify vehicle make and its model, license plate number and driver’s plus passenger’s characteristics. All these are good evidences which the courts will need to pin you down for the offence that you have committed.

The U.S. made LT120-20 TruCam, is reputed to cost approximately US6,000 (RM17,000). Summonses captured by the above unit, is normally despatched to the offender within 7 days of the offence being committed along with the captured images.

J.P.J. advised that initially offenders are sent reminders to contact the authorities concerned for an interview with them to verify the authenticity of the summonses. A failure to heed the above advice will result in a RM200 penalty. The final follow up procedure will be hauling the offender to court eventually.

In conclusion, it is believed that some 2,375 motorists are caught speeding in Malaysia everyday. With the LT120-20 TruCam it appears that the days for Malaysian motorists who fancy speeding along our highways and expressways dangerously are indeed numbered.

Your waterloo so to say, has finally arrived. Like Napoleon Bonaparte, who lost to Admiral Lord Nelson in 1815, your “D” day is imminent. Hurrah for the LT120-20 TruCam recorder!

The authorities especially the Police and the J.P.J. should buy more of them! They say the ends justify the means. TruCams may be expensive. But eventually, it will go on to save a lot of lives.

Through sheer neglect and indifference, Mr Lim’s driving document became null and void. He had permitted it to lapse for more than 3 years. As a result, Lim had to do a retest to get back his driving license.

Mr Lim, I remember was then living next to Pui Ying Primary School along 4th mile, Kapar Road, Klang. Although staying with his wife and children at the above address, Lim worked as a bouncer in a nightclub in Johore Baru, near Singapore. Lim went on to tell me, he used to travel rather frequently to Johore Baru in his red 2000 c.c. Mitsubishi car.

In many of my conversations with Mr Lim, this student of mine told me something which I found hard to believe. Lim said, he could travel from Kuala Lumpur to Johore Baru in less than 2 hours. Taking into consideration the fact that the distance from K.L. to Johore Baru is approximately 250km and that the maximum speed limit of our national expressway is 110km/h, my friend Lim must have been speeding away at speeds of over 180km/h to achieve the above feat.

This student told me a story which I feel should be related to all my blog readers. Once Lim said he left Kuala Lumpur at about 2.00 pm, he was in fact late and in hurry to get to Johore Baru. This time around, Lim was speeding as usual well over 180km/h.

At Nilai, a small town approximately 60 – 70 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur, police personnel manning a road there, were unable to stop Mr Lim who was travelling excessively fast that day. My student had in fact sped past the police, even before they could take out their pens to record his car registration number.

The police in Nilai then radioed their counterparts in Seremban about the speeding red car of Mr Lim. Students who are familiar with Malaysian towns well, should know that Seremban is more or less 120km from Kuala Lumpur.

As the story unfolds, Mr Lim who was travelling very fast that afternoon in excess of no less than 200 km/h. I believe he was once again not stopped by the police authorities at Seremban. The police were becoming rather apprehensive. They now suspected that Lim must be ferrying drugs in his car. If not, why has Lim chosen to go so fast and had refused to stop at police road blocks set up for him thus far?

The police authorities then contacted their counterparts, this time at Gemas to stop Lim. Gemas as far as I’m aware is approximately 150km from Kuala Lumpur. This time around, the police felt that by hook or by crook, my friend Lim had to be stopped at Gemas and at all costs.

A road block was immediately set up at Gemas. I was told the police spread a spikes barrier across the entire road to prevent Mr Lim from getting across the road block laid out.

At Gemas, Lim found the road block and steel spikes barrier too much for him to handle. With pistols drawn, the police stopped Lim’s car and ordered him to disembark. Lim was asked to stand astride, put his hands on his car bonnet while the police frisked him thoroughly.

The police in fact found nothing. Lim was not carrying any drugs whatsoever. Although Lim was speeding away from Kuala Lumpur to Gemas at speeds well over 200 km/h that day, the police at that time did not possess sophisticated ray guns to record the speed at which he was travelling. The police therefore could not cite Lim for the offence of speeding.

Lim was set free. The police had no evidence that my friend, Mr Lim was indeed speeding on that particular day.

However, if the above incident which be felled Lim way back in the 1970s had happened today, the above incident would not have taken place. I will therefore have no opportunity to tell readers about it today.

It was just a matter of time. What happened recently, was bound to happen. While other countries such as America, Australia, England and even China have introduced the electric car or better known as E.V., into their markets, Malaysia was still lacking far behind.

To date, there are a few companies in Malaysia that have introduced the hybrid cars here. Examples of companies that have done that include Toyota Motors, Ford Motors, and Honda Motors Malaysia. Hybrid cars run on a combination of conventional engines and petrol. Honda’s Insight and Toyota’s Prius are two examples of hybrid cars that have made headway into our Malaysian market.

For a fairly long time now, the Malaysian authorities have been troubled with the problem of global warming. This has led to Proton Malaysia to come up with a range of eco-friendly test vehicles. Two electric vehicles that were introduced into Malaysia recently include the Saga E.V., which is designed for zero CO² emission and the Exora Reev (Range Extended Electric Vehicle). The later is specifically designed to reduce fuel consumption as well as CO² emission.

It should be noted here that the 2 above mentioned cars namely the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev were produced as a result of co-operation between Proton Malaysia and the British company of Fraser Nash Research Limited. Work on the Exora Reev commenced as early as 2004. For the Saga E.V., work on it started approximately in 2008.

A few interesting things about the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev include:-
i. The Saga E.V. has no internal combustion engine.

ii. The Exora Reev has a small engine of 407cc capacity. The Kancil has a 660cc engine.

iii. The Saga E.V. can travel 120km on a full charge.

iv. On the other hand, the Exora Reev is capable of doing 700km on a full charge and a full tank of petrol of 23 litres.

Furthermore, both of the above 2 cars are supplied with Lithium ion batteries. It takes some 6 – 8 hours to charge them. It also uses a normal household 13 amps plug to do the charging. While the Exora Reev is a 7 seater vehicle, the Saga E.V. is said to be a 5 seater sedan. Just like MyVi, Kelissa and Altis.

And now, we arrive at the most important thing regarding the electric vehicles recently introduced into our country. The “price”!

The Exora Reev being a 7 seater is expected to cost anything around RM70,000 and RM100,000. The Saga E.V. is expected to be sold at around RM70,000. It might get cheaper as time goes by.

Without a doubt, both the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev are 30% – 40% more expensive than the current conventional cars. But buyers must remember a few things, they save on fuel and road taxes and are also said to be relatively cheaper to maintain.

A grand total of 9 cars have been handed over to the Government for initial tests. In the meantime, it would take at least 2 years for the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev to be mass produced. In the meantime, the public will have to be patient.

The Ministry of Transport on the other hand has put amendments to the Road Transport Act 1987 on hold. Hybrid cars as well as fully electric cars such as the Exora and Saga E.V. will therefore have to wait a little wee bit longer to know its fate.

Although the 2 models of electric cars namely the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev are said to be eco-friendly and does not pollute the atmosphere, users in our country, Malaysia should not jump with joy too soon over its introduction. Without a doubt, the price of petrol is currently very high here. That it will go up even higher in the near future is without saying a possibility.

But what Malaysians should be asking is “will electric cars solve our problem?” Electricity bills today represent one of the highest household items most consumers have to pay each and every month. Most households in Malaysia today pay a sum of at least RM150 to RM350 for the use of electricity. Some are said to pay even higher rates. It’s an expensive commodity.

Electric cars as one is aware have to be charged nightly for a span of 6 to 8 hours. Calculate it for a month and you will surely be able to decipher how much your electricity bill will escalate every month.

Therefore, what I like to remind you is, are electric cars going to be an answer to our soaring problem of high fuel prices? Think about it carefully and make your own decision for yourselves.

The second problem which Malaysians should contemplate is this. Most Malaysians live or stay in single or double storey terrace houses. There might be some who are lucky enough to own semi-D, bungalows or bigger houses with gardens and spacious lands around it.

Contemplate for a moment, if you happen to own an electric car in the near future, and you also own a single storey terrace house with a porch, which is only capable of accommodating one single automobile in it, whereas your family owns three to four vehicles, can you envisage the problem you’ll face trying to charge your electric car for a span of 6 – 8 hours every night?

Before concluding this short article on electric cars, permit me to provide you with another hypothesis to ponder about. Assuming that you will be going to another town, and you will be residing in a well known hotel there, your vehicle will normally be parked in the hotel basement car park. And your car needs to be charged for at least 6 – 8 hours for it to be used for your journey back home to Kuala Lumpur the following next day.

Permit me to ask you one pertinent question. How do you then solve your above problem? Unless hotel management and other large organizations prepare themselves to be equipped with 13 amps 3 pin plugs in their basement car parks, without a doubt, we Malaysians will be faced with a rather massive headache on our hands when electric cars come along.

Any new introduction or invention will always have its pros and cons. While feeling elated and excited over the introduction of electric cars into our country, we should as a matter of fact, think about the difficulties and problems that may accompany it.

America for example, has taken steps to build battery charging stations for electric cars all over the country. Petrol stations, service stations, supermarkets and so forth are all being prepared for the day when electric cars will make its appearance there.

It won’t be long before electric cars are introduced on a large scale here. We should be in fact been taking the same concrete steps to meet this problem head along now itself.

There are many foreigners currently working here in our country. A lot of tourists also visit Malaysia too. Besides that, students from overseas, for example from Taiwan and some African countries also come to our shores to attend higher institutes of learning.

The above group of people, foreigners, tourists and students face a massive problem especially where transport is concerned. Our transport facilities, unlike in Singapore or Hong Kong, can be considered as very poor. It is in fact, nothing to shout about.

Foreigners who come to our country feel, they can overcome their transport woes here in Malaysia should they be allowed to rent vehicles. If they are allowed to own vehicles here, it would be a better solution.

A few years ago, my brother-in-law, Mr Ooi and his wife, Molly visited England. The above couple, rented a large saloon car and went around sight seeing the United Kingdom. It was not only cheap, it was convenient as well.

My son-in-law, Mr. Kin and his wife Swan Nee went round Australia in a large limousine when he visited the continent a few years ago. Kin was in Australia doing his studies at Monash University. He therefore knew Australia rather well.

By giving or quoting examples of tourists renting a car or a limousine in countries that they visited, what am I trying to imply? In fact, it makes it more convenient for tourists or foreigners who are working or visiting a foreign country if they are able to drive themselves there.

But first of all, a foreigner, a tourist, or even students who are in a certain country and intend to drive there, should first of all possess a driving license. Then only are such people mentioned above permitted to rent a car or allowed to own a vehicle there.

People who stay in a particular country for long periods would sometimes like to convert their domestic licenses into licenses of the country where they are residing. Many readers of this blog have from time to time written in to enquire if the above can be done.

As a matter of fact, the Geneva Conference 1949 and 1968, has agreed that member countries accept each other countries licenses for use. As such, Malaysian licenses, normally known as C.D.L. or Competent Driver’s License can be used to drive in a country where they are visiting.

Although domestic licenses are allowed to be used in other countries, nevertheless, it is always better for one to obtain an I.D.L. or an International Driving License before going overseas. This would eliminate a lot of problems.

Not too long ago, the Malaysian authorities have announced that Taiwan and Malaysian authorities have mutually agreed to accept each other’s driving licenses for conversion purposes.

Malaysian authorities say Taiwanese road users can now automatically convert their licenses. Taiwanese license holders can now apply to convert their licenses into Malaysian ones at any Road Transport Department or J.P.J. office.

However, certain procedures have first to be adhered to prior to conversion being allowed. Conversion of Taiwanese licenses can only be allowed after it has been authenticated at the Taipei Economic And Cultural Office in Malaysia, said the Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha in a statement yesterday. Further, the minister added that both countries have agreed on the move to provide greater convenience to Malaysian and Taiwanese drivers.

Up to date, Malaysian and Taiwanese authorities have not been able to come to a resolution for conversion. Two or three things seemed to have blocked the way towards automatic conversion of both our driving licenses prior to this move being made.

One was, while Malaysians drive on the right hand side of the road, as in England and Australia, Taiwanese drivers drive instead on the left, like the Americans. The authorities here in Malaysia feared problems might arise because of this.

Secondly, it should also be borne in mind that the steering wheels for cars used in Malaysia are situated on the right hand side, whereas in Taiwanese cars, the steering is located on the left hand side instead.

Another contention which the Malaysian and Taiwanese counterparts could not agree upon was the standard of tests that were conducted by the two parties which appeared to differ rather distinctly. A great disparity was said to have existed it seems.

Prior to the agreement between Taiwan and Malaysia agreeing to mutually accept each other’s driving licenses, the Road Transport Department has all along been accepting driving licenses of certain countries like England, Australia, and Australia being allowed to convert to Malaysian licenses.

Way back in 2000, I came to know of a Bangladeshi national who successfully succeeded in getting his driving license converted into Malaysian driving license. How delighted the Bangladeshi would have felt.

A neighbour, who lives directly behind my house, a Puan Ah Pang, who is a wan tan mee seller, has a daughter-in-law from Vietnam, who has also successfully managed to get her license converted into Malaysian license.

But it should be reiterated here than not all driving licenses from abroad can be converted into Malaysian driving licenses. The Road Transport Department possesses certain rules and regulations. If you intend to convert your country’s driving license into our license, you are advised to contact our authorities at their headquarters which as you know is located in Putrajaya.

Best of luck to you in your attempts. I am elated to know that your country’s license can be converted into Malaysian licenses!

Still on the topic of conversion of licenses, the United Kingdom allows driving licenses from Singapore to be converted into British license. But unfortunately, Malaysian driving licenses cannot be converted. The reason being, Malaysian licenses are considered to be of an inferior standard. Therefore, a Malaysian who wants to keep on driving in England after 120 days, has to take the necessary steps to secure a British license.

When compared to the world’s largest producers of automobiles, such as Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Subaru, Renault, Honda etc. Proton Malaysia maybe a small and insignificant maker of world cars. Nevertheless, “little things” do sometimes go on to achieve great strides.

One of Proton’s latest green or “electric” cars, the Proton Exora REEV won in the “most energy efficient multi purpose vehicle” category at the 2011 Future Car Challenge, held in London. Readers may wish to know exactly, what is REEV? REEV actually denotes Range Extended Electric Vehicle.

The Proton Exora REEV, was declared as the joint-winner with Toyota’s Prius plug in petrol hybrid as the best overall range extended vehicle. All in all, some over 70 vehicles, half of which were running on electricity, took part in a race which started in Brighton, England.

The latest race was said to be organized by the Royal Automobile Society (RAC). But unlike other previous races held, the “Future Car Challenge” competition was not about finishing first. Rather, the above race organized by the RAC or Royal Automobile Club of England, was intended to confirm and verify which vehicle could use the least amount of energy to cover the distance of 92 km, which started in Brighton, which is located at the southern tip of England.

For your information, the Proton Exora REEV is an electric vehicle that is developed in co-operation between Proton Malaysia limited and Frazer Nash Research limited of England.

Both the Proton Exora REEV and the Proton Persona REEV, are reported to be powered by a 70 kW motor which is backed up by a small petrol engine, which kicks in with the sole purpose of recharging the lithium ion battery pack. As a matter of fact, the Proton Exora REEV was declared as the eventual winner in 2010 in augural challenge of the Future Car Challenge.

The win by Proton REEV in 2011 surprised all quarters including Proton Malaysia itself. Datuk Nainuddin Che Din, Proton’s Project Manager, said that Proton Malaysia was rather confident of doing well in this year’s competition.

In the meantime, Proton’s Managing Director, Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Mohamed Tahir declared that he was more than thrilled with Proton Exora REEV’s win this year.

Fraser Nash’s director for regional operations, Mr Gordon Dixon, reiterated that Proton’s win proved that his company’s faith in electric vehicles which are in fact, he said, platforms for the future.

Proton Malaysia meanwhile, announced that electric cars by Proton, will be made available to the general public by the year 2013. Hurrah for Proton’s success and achievement. All Malaysians are indeed proud of your achievement.

5 of Proton’s “green” vehicles of the Proton Exora and Persona Series are currently being tested by a few governmental departments of the Malaysian government. The results will be known shortly.

Proton Malaysia’s latest success in Brighton, England, will go a long way in making both the EXORA REEV and the PERSONA REEV and tremendous success in a few years’ time. This augurs well in Malaysia’s attempts towards building a better and cleaner environment all rounds.

Allow me to quote to you a true life situation which happened to me not too long ago. A “P” driver who is only 17 years old recently obtained his license to drive. The said driver has posed me with a perplexing question.

The driver Tan E.S. wants to know if he can drive to Singapore with a friend sitting beside him. Tan took the normal lessons of 10 – 14 hours tuition under me. The above is the normal number of driving tuition lessons most young students undergo these days.

Personally, if you should ask me, “P” license holders who are hardly 17 or 18 years of age are still not competent enough and are therefore not yet ready to be driving along expressways, highways and lebuhraya of our country. Therefore, the Karak Highway, the North – South Expressway, and the East – West Highway are all beyond the reaches of a novice “P” or probationary drivers. Parents should keep in mind this tip.

To gain valuable experiences, what do I then recommend? As an experienced lecturer on safety courses for would be drivers, I would like advise and also insist that students and new drivers:

i) Initially drive in the vicinity of their housing estates or kampung (village).

ii) One should travel only to nearby towns in the beginning after they have attained their driving licenses to secure valuable experience. For instance, if a student should be living in Klang, Selangor, he or she can gain experience driving to nearby places such as Pelabuhan Klang, Kapar Town, Shah Alam, Meru and Kota Kemuning nearby.

Only after that a “P” driver can then travel to further places like Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Selangor. But the sad thing is that, not many parents would heed this instructor’s advice.

Referring to my student, Tan E.S., who wanted to know if it is alright for him to drive to Singapore on his own, albeit with a passenger friend accompanying him, what do I feel regarding Tan’s proposal?

Did I agree to Tan’s proposal to drive to Singapore? Obviously not! Why, you may wish to know, have I decided to disagree with Tan’s proposal?

The reasons I gave Tan in rejecting his idea were:-

i) A person who has just turned 17 and has just received his “P” or probational driving license, hasn’t got the experience to drive to Singapore yet. Anyway, it is just too dangerous to carry out such an unthinkable suggestion.

ii) Readers should also not forget that family cars which are to be driven by “P” holders are sometimes big cars with cc capacity of well over 2000cc or more. For example, a Toyota Innova or Honda Accord are vehicles which are all over 2000cc or more.

The Mitsubishi Pajero for readers’ information is a 2,850cc vehicle. The Unser for example is 1800cc. These vehicles are considered huge compared to the usual small sized 660cc Kancil cars which are used by our driving schools or institutes today.

iii) Posh family cars, such as Toyota Camry, BMW 3 & 5 Series, Mercedes Benz, Toyota Alphard etc. are but other examples of large and high cc vehicles, which are normally driven by our novice “P” drivers in Malaysia. The inability to control such massive vehicles is an extremely dangerous thing, believe me!

iv) It should also be borne in mind that the above cars I’ve quoted as examples are not only powerful and of extremely high cc vehicles. They therefore should only be driven by people with lots of experience, especially along our expressways.

To end this article, let’s go back to the horrific accident which happened at KM 33.7 of the Johore Bahru-Mersing highway on Saturday 17th December 2011. The accident occurred, it is believed due to the young driver Ng Wei Tai, 17, losing control of his MPV vehicle before it crashed into a ditch on the left hand side of the road.

In the above tragic accident, 4 students lost their lives. Ironically, the driver himself survived the crash.

Ongoing investigations into the case, revealed a startling revelation. The young driver Ng had only obtained his driving license about 2 weeks before the accident. I have often times asked my students cheekily, “how many months were you in your mother’s tummy before she finally gave birth to you?” And my students mostly replied, “9 months or more”! I hope readers will be able to see the logic between the two comparisons raised by me.

I feel it is about time parents play a bigger role in order to prevent such unwarranted incidences from taking place in the near future. This article has laid out a couple suggestions for readers, especially parents to adhere to. Hopefully, something concrete and good can be achieved out of my suggestions.

Regarding this latest incident, Kota Tinggi O.C.P.D. Suprintendent Che Mahazan Aik said that the case was being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987. The above section happens to be the most serious offence which a driver can ever commit.

Section 41(1) carries with it a mandatory prison sentence, a hefty fine and the withdrawal or suspension of a driver’s license.

Meanwhile, motorists are all advised to be cautious whilst driving and most important of all, adhere strictly to speed limits which is suggested and allowed. As the Johore Road Safely Director, Noormazura Mat Nawi advised recently, “teens who are new drivers should particularly not drive without being accompanied by more experienced drivers by their side”.

The director went one step further. She advised parents of these young drivers to also prevent their children from driving long distances without being supervised by experienced drivers!

I have been instructing students how to drive since 1970. That works out to be 42 years. In Malaysia today, most students who take up a driving course, usually end up taking a total of 8 to 16 hours of tuition.

Regarding the above course, there exists a few questions which readers might wish to inquire about. Amongst the questions the public would most probably wish to ask are:-

i) Is the above course sufficient enough to produce drivers who are capable to drive competently?

ii) Does one feel that present day drivers or probational drivers are driving too fast especially along our expressway! As a result, many tragic accidents seem to be happening again and again.

iii) Are the current driving school or institute syllabuses adequate to deal with the current rate of accidents taking place in our country?

Many people including myself hold the opinion that young students who have just obtained their “P” or probational driving licenses are believed to be:-

a) Driving too fast along our expressways. Some are believed to be driving well over 70km/h to 80km/h or even more.

b) It should be kept in mind that students who have just obtained their driving licenses have yet to attain their 18th birthday as yet. They are therefore still immature and very inexperienced.

c) Being hardly 18 years of age, most are believed to be unaware about the potential dangers of modern cars and are therefore incapable of driving safely and competently.

My hypothetical question which I wrote in another article in this blog, entitled “Should the Permissible Age of Obtaining a Car Driving License Be Raised to 18?”

However, this article has received many negative responses from parents and other quarters. Other recommendations which I have made rather frequently include as an experienced driver, parents should see to it that their children who have just recently obtained their driving licenses should be strictly supervised by them closely.

In short, the first few years of a person’s “P” or probational license period has to be monitored closely by their parents. At least for the first two years of the probational period, a constant parental observation has to be rendered.

What in reality do I propose? Obviously, I personally feel parents love their children or siblings too much. This prevents them following my well-intended suggestions.

Why do so many young drivers seem to be involved in accidents these days? Many young people seem to be involved in many accidents maybe because:-

i) Parents fail to realize or are unaware of the fact that their children or siblings are just only 17 years old. Most important of all, they seem to be oblivious to the fact that their children are still inexperienced.

Youngsters should therefore be advised to drive carefully and most important of all, do not speed! To drive safely along our expressways or lebuhraya, ample experiences are indeed required.

ii) To drive along our expressways and lebuhraya, a driver should have the ability not only to drive well but also to realize or know what speeds actually suits them.

iii) In order to be able to negotiate a sharp corner well and safely, a driver has to use the correct gears (in cases of manual cars). Besides this, a driver’s braking techniques are also important too.

One also has to ensure that over-steering does not occur. Over-steering can possibly lead to extreme dangers as the vehicle can go out of control. All these requirements, I believe are all beyond the capabilities of a young and inexperienced driver.

In my next article, I will share my thoughts on the perils of inexperience young Malaysian drivers on the road.

They say “no news is good news”. For more than 3 to 4 months now, the national newspapers in Malaysia, The New Straits Times, The Star, the Berita Harian, Nanyang Siang Pau and others, had not reported about any bus crashes. And then, the public were shocked when two tragic bus crashes were reported, one after the other.

In Behrang, Perak, 4 people lost their lives when the express bus they were travelling in, skidded and keeled over along the North – South Expressway on Friday night, 11.11.11. Students from Air Merah Secondary School, Khairul Anwar Azhan and Maysarra Zaidi both 15, and their teacher Siti Hajar Mohamed 33, were in a bus that overturned. The three were attempting to rescue their friends, who were trapped in the bus, when a sand laden trailer ploughed into their bus. The gruesome incident took place at the 382nd kilometer, a 100m from the rest area at about 4.20 a.m.

It was reported that the above bus was carrying 36 students and 3 teachers. The driver of the bus lost control of the vehicle when one of its front tyres burst. The bus then overturned. While attempts were being made to get the students and teachers out, a trailer reportedly hit the stationary bus from behind.

A few days prior to this incident at Behrang, 25 people were reportedly injured in a highway crash, in an accident which took place at the KM19 along the Ayer Hitam–Johore Baru stretch, minutes after it had crossed the Kulai toll plaza. A passenger, S. Parvathy 26, who sustained head injuries, said the bus driver was then speeding.

According to Johore Baru (North) deputy O.C.P.D., Supt. Mohd Akhir Ishak, said police were now in the process of questioning the 45 year old bus driver. The accident is being investigated under “reckless driving”, which comes under section 43 of the Road Transport Act 1987.

Hardly one day had passed by, when another express bus, which was then transporting workers from the Hospital Sultanah Aminah near Johore Baru, overturned. The impact of the accident was so bad that the bus split into two. In this accident, it was learnt that the bus driver was also speeding. This had caused him to lose control of the vehicle.

Commenting on the recent spate of accident involving bus expresses, the Land Public Transport Authority (SPAD) has urged passengers to report directly to them if the drivers of buses they are travelling in speed or driver recklessly. SPAD it is said, has a special team stationed in Putrajaya, who will immediately contact bus operators when a report of speeding is made by a passenger.

All that is needed is the bus registration number, what time and where the incident took place. And immediate action will be taken!

Commenting on the two recent bus express accidents, SPAD Chief Operating Officer Encik Azhar Ahmad, gave a stern warning to bus operators to ensure that the safety of passenger is given top priority. Otherwise, he warned they stand to lose their licenses.

Regarding the 3 latest bus express incidents which took place just last week, one, the Behrang case which took place along the North – West expressway, two, the incident which took place at the Ayer Itam Johore Baru Road and finally the accident which took place near Johore Baru where the bus overturned, let us now study in greater detail how the above 3 crashes took place.

In one of the incidents, the driver was reported to have lost control of his vehicle, when his front tyre burst. In the other 2 incidences, passengers complained that the drivers of the bus express, buses were in fact speeding or travelling at dangerous speeds.

As such, high speeds seem to be the main cause of express buses going out of control. To prevent such future incidences from happening, I would like to make a few suggestions. It is uncertain if they will be even be considered at all. Nonetheless, no harm attempting, I believe.

My Humble Suggestion

The suggestion I would like to put forward are as follows:-

i) In Turkey, all tour and express bus move only during the daylight hours. They stop after 8.00pm. The authorities there believe, buses travelling at night represent “danger”.

Can the authorities here in Malaysia consider this suggestion seriously? I would like to make a serious suggestion whereby all tour buses should stop travelling by midnight, which means all express buses should reach their destinations on the stroke of midnight.

The Land Public Transport Commission or SPAD, people should look into this recommendation seriously in order to prevent accidents from happening.

ii) As speeding by bus drivers seems to be the main culprit for causing most of the accidents, would it be possible to control the speed of the tour or express buses to a maximum speed of 50 or 60 km/h? As they say speed kills!

Well, what about it? Will the public accept a 10 hour journey from Kuala Lumpur to Penang beginning from 10.00 am and finally reaching Penang Island at 10.00 pm? Bearing in mind that 2 rest stops along the way, each ½ hour stops will have to be made in the interest of passengers and bus drivers.

As they say, travelling by bus may eventually be slower and may take a longer time if my suggestion is to be implemented. But it will definitely be safer. I’m sure there will be less accidents taking place.

Those who cannot accept the fact that going back to Penang will take 10 to 12 hours should then opt for an alternative transport. I will only be putting forward 2 suggestions this time around. It is believed that it would be pointless to give more suggestions if the authorities are disinterested in giving these suggestions its proper accord.

Give the above two suggestions some thoughts first. Implement them and see what the results are. Then, other suggestions can then be put forward. Training for drivers, buses being constructed well and ensuring that bus drivers refraining from usage of drugs and so on, can be attended to at a later stage. As Confucius said, “the journey to a thousand miles begin with the first step”.