It has been reported in Tokyo, Toyota Motors will soon be recalling a total of 270,000 vehicles worldwide because of an engine fault. Its luxury cars, Lexus and Crown are reported to be among those to be recalled. This would indeed be a blow to Toyota’s renowned reputation the world over.

What seems to be affecting Toyota cars this time around? According to Toyota sources, faulty springs in certain engines are reported to possibly lead to affected vehicles stopping while the vehicle is in operation.

Toyota intends to make recalls after submitting recall notice to the Japanese Transport Ministry soon. A total of some 90,000 units in Japan alone and 180,000 overseas are expected to be recalled in the current exercise.

According to a Toyota spokesperson, Mr. Ririko Takeuchi, the automaker giant is set to recall overseas vehicles according to each individual country’s regulations. Details for the above recall would only be made at a later stage.

If readers remember well, Toyota Motors have been faced with a few recalls worldwide since a few months ago. Toyota’s latest announcement comes after criticisms were made against the carmaker over its previous recalls in the United States which have been said to have caused numerous deaths.

The company’s latest problem, the defective 4.6 litre V8 and 3.5 litre V6 engines have been installed in 8 of its models including hybrid ones. Models such as Lexus GS350, GS450h, GS460, IS350, LS460, IS600h and IS600hL and some Crown series as well.

However, the automaker has said that it has yet to receive any reports pertaining to accidents or injuries related to the said issue.

The latest recall will obviously affect Toyota’s worldwide reputation as a whole as it affects its Lexus brand, which incidentally is a luxury class by itself.

The recalls have caused some damage to Toyota’s image. It has happened to Toyota’s most luxurious models and customer’s confidence in the company would certainly have been shaken.

A boy, Danial Gabrail Abdullah, who will turn 5 in December, suffered serious injuries in an accident in Saujana Puchong, Selangor on Saturday. Danial was reported to have suffered a cracked skull, internal brain hemorrhage and a broken ankle.

I am not surprised that many drivers nowadays, especially new and, young and those who have very recently achieved their P license, may not be aware of how fast they should drive while they are in town areas.

Just recently, I had just crossed a traffic light and was about to turn right into a lane when a motorcyclist laden with vegetables and other assorted marketing sundries overtook me in a dangerous manner. The said motorcyclist was speeding away excessively.

What made me wonder was, was it necessary for the motorist to be traveling away at such a speed, especially when we were in fact in a town center?

Inexperienced drivers nowadays, hold the view that possessing a driving license is the gateway to much pleasure. With a driving license, many feel that they can go to parties, discos and cinemas. Many are unaware that they should in fact be careful as a driving license can sometimes lead us into a lot of problems and miseries.

A Sani Express bus driver from Perak is currently awaiting court process after 18 of his passengers died in a road accident a few months ago.

A student, whom I taught driving, is today awaiting to be charged under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for having involved in an accident. The driver who knocked into him at a junction unfortunately died.

The boy above has had his license banned temporarily. If found to be guilty by the courts, it is possible that the driver might face a mandatory prison sentence of 2 to 10 years.

The question which I am attempting to address today is whether drivers of today are aware that in reality, there is in fact a speed limit for driving in town areas.

First of all, school areas have a speed limit of 30 km/h. Drivers are advised to keep to a speed limit designated above.

In the 1960s, when I took up driving lessons, my instructor, Mr. Tew Hock Lai, used to remind me that while driving in town areas, drivers should stick to a speed limit of 50 km/h.

When asked, what is meant by town areas, Mr. Tew explained, “town areas” are in fact areas a radius of 5 miles from the centre of the town. The centre of most town is usually the police station.

Therefore a driver who exceeds a speed of 50 km/h in towns, is in fact violating a law which is in fact speeding.

In the unfortunate accident, whereby Danial Gabrial Abdullah was involved, it was reported that the speeding vehicle with the words Police Bantuan slammed into the 5 year old boy.

In fact, being in a housing area, the above vehicle should not have been traveling so fast. The driver was in fact, speeding.

The second offense committed by the van driver was not stopping after the accident happened. The law requires that a driver stop and offer whatever help necessary to the victims of an accident. In the above incident, the driver was said to have not stopped but drove away instead.

However, according to the boy’s mother, Puan Nor Saliha, the driver however returned to the scene of the incident a few minutes later.

The driver of the said van, in causing the accident was driving a vehicle which exceeded the speed limit allowed. This infringes Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

According to the above section of the R.T.O. 1987, a driver can be fined to a tune of RM1000. A driver can have his license endorsed. His license can even be suspended for a period of 1 month.

Should a victim die, a driver can then be charged under Section 41 of the R.T.O. 1987. Besides this, a driver faces a 2 – 10 years mandatory jail sentence. Further, his license can be suspended from the date of the court case until the court decides on imprisonment later on.

A driver should stop and provide assistance to the injured. A driver should ideally send the injured victims to the nearest clinic or hospital. A police report should also be made to the nearest police station regarding the accident within 24 hours.

As usual, the driver should also make it a point to report or inform his insurance company pertaining to the accident. Failure to do this may result in the insurance company disclaiming liability.

Can such unfortunate accidents similar to the one above which befelled Danial Gabrial Abdullah be prevented?

Most housing estates today are rather busy areas.

Parents and guardians should make it a point that small children should not be allowed to wander about into these busy thoroughfares or play along busy road.

Local council authorities should set up playground and fields in all housing estates for the use of children. Basketball and badminton courts should also be built. All these augurs well for the safety of our children.

To prevent drivers and motorcyclists from speeding, more road bumps or speed breakers should be constructed in housing areas. All these may cause inconvenience to road users, but the safety and welfare of our children is more important than anything else.

We hope that the 5 years old boy, who is currently warded at the Subang Jaya hospital will recover soon and will be allowed to go home shortly. To all drivers, let this article be an advice to you. Try not to speed, especially when you are in the vicinity of town areas.

Remember, that in the vicinity of towns, the maximum speed limit permitted is 50 km/h. School areas, as you know is only 30 km/h.

It was reported recently that Toyota Motors Corporation has regarded its recent recall of millions of vehicles worldwide as a good lesson after all.

According to the world’s largest automaker, there exists a proverb in Japanese which says, “After the rain, the ground hardens”. It is like we say in English, “It’s a blessing in disguise!”

“Scrutiny from both inside and outside the company, its seem acts as a good lesson to it”.

According to Akio Toyoda, its new president, Toyota Motors feels very confident that the Company has become more focused on its customers and safety because it went through this period of tribulation recently.

Toyota is currently said to be rebuilding its worldwide reputation after recalling more than 8 million vehicles for defects which were linked to “unintended acceleration” in its vehicles. When asked why all these has happened, the new president reiterated that it could have been due to rapid expansion as Toyota grew to become the world’s largest automaker.

For your information, Toyota Motors was recently fined after recalling gas pedals in Europe months before doing similar recalls in the United States.

It has reported Toyota’s recall for accelerator pedals and floor mats which were reported to be able to trap the accelerator has triggered 4 U.S. Congressional hearings, including the latest one in February 2010, which was attended by Mr. Toyoda and other top Toyota executives.

The U.S. Transport Department is said to be continuing investigating Toyota’s handling of past recalls.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (N.H.T.S.A.) fined Toyota Motors a sum of US16.4 millions last month for failure to notify promptly gas pedals defects. This month, it began investigations for a 2005 recall of faulty truck steering relay-rods.

In the name of safety of all vehicles worldwide, we applaud and commend the U.S. Transport Department’s effort. Toyota Motors’ effort in co-operating with the U.S. authorities should also be commended as well.

If I am not mistaken, this blog of mine, or rather should I say, “ours”, as it was initiated by my son in April 2009.

Today is its 14 months appearance since its inception.

If you have been following this blog, you would surely know that I am Cikgu Yap, the driving instructor and the one responsible for writing most of the articles appearing in our blog.

To be fair to my son, he has contributed some beautiful and well written articles himself. One article by him, I clearly recall was on renewing of license and road tax through MyEG services. It’s one of the top 10 articles currently in this blog.

Today, to be frank with you, I am slowly running out of topics to write about. After all, although I have over 40 years experience in this field, topics on all things pertaining to the driving school industry must surely come to an end eventually.

Being a pensioned person, I sometimes suffer from a slight insomnia. That is, I can’t sleep well at times. At my age, I guess that something not unusual. So, as I lay in bed this morning, and interesting topic cropped up in my mind. This is the topic which I am writing now.

Readers may wish to know, what’s the interesting topic which I am talking about. The topic is none other than CCTV and its potentials.

The Road Transport Department (R.T.D.), it is said will initiate the use of cameras soon. These cameras would be installed at all traffic junctions in Malaysia. It is intended to deter indisciplined motorists from doing dangerous stunts as beating red traffic lights.

The Road Transport Department cannot allow Malaysians to continue to behave in such manner. Foreigners have a very bad impression of Malaysian drivers as a whole.

Malaysia’s accident rate ranks amongst the highest in the world. It’s number three, behind China and India. The R.T.D. has to redeem the standard of Malaysian drivers. With this in mind, the R.T.D. has finally decided to implement the cameras in its Automated Enforcement System (A.E.S.) soon.

The role of CCTVs today in our country is indeed immense. The R.T.D., according to its Minister, Datuk Ong Tee Kiat, is scheduled to launch the A.E.S. program anytime now in September 2010 throughout the country.

With this system at all traffic lights junction, R.T.D. will fix surveillance cameras to deter indisciplined motorists from doing wrong things like beating red traffic lights and so forth. A very good move! In fact, it should have been implemented a long time ago.

So, all dear motorists, your days, as they say are about over. Your days are numbered! Think carefully, especially those riding motorcycles before you decide beating the traffic lights from now on.

Talking about the subject of CCTVs, permit me to relate to you a few interesting stories about this amazing discovery. One incident happened to me personally. Therefore, what I’m telling you is a true incident.

While recuperating at home, watching TV after my 1 ½ month stay at the Sungai Buluh Hospital 2 years ago, my wife, before she left the home for her work, installed a computer camera in our TV set.

Being ignorant of what it really was, I failed to realize that in fact she was actually observing me from her office. I actually get a shock of my life when she called from her office one day to tell me that I had failed to close the main gate of our house.

Looking out of the curtain, I actually thought she had come home early then. Only then did I realized, that my wife was observing all these things about our home from her office.

Now, I hope readers will realize what I mean when I say “The Power of Dreams”, which to me refers aptly to CCTVs. This instrument has the ability to achieve great heights in the near future.

When conducting one of my Kursus Pendidikan Pemandu (K.P.P.) class just recently, I happened to inquire of a student, a Puan Malini, where she worked. She told me she worked at a Carrefour supermarket. She went on to tell the class that the place where she worked had over 400 CCTVs to observe shop lifters.

A nephew of mine who runs a rather successful dim sum restaurant frequented by lots of diners, has installed lots of CCTVs all around his establishment. The CCTVs were installed to obverse his workers from his home!

The fourth example of the use of CCTVs for surveillance refers to a large Chinese school in North Klang. It has a student population of well over 3,000 at least. Students of mine, informs me that their school boasts of well over 20 CCTVs installed around their school premises, not only for security purposes, but also to observe the antics and “monkey tricks” of the students.

There is a bus company, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, that plies between Klang bus station and Kuala Lumpur daily, that has double decker buses. Its drivers use CCTV cameras installed near the driver’s seat to observe passengers who are on the upper deck of the vehicle. Such is the technology which we have today. Such therefore is the potential of CCTVs today!

Having given readers some insight into the potential of CCTV equipment today, I feel it is only appropriate that the story about the case of how CCTV cameras which were installed at a large mechanic establishment near a traffic light junction was reported to have recorded a traffic accident which took place at Jalan Sirat, Klang. 3 people unfortunately died in this nasty accident.

Either the car or the lorry involved was said to have beaten the red traffic light that morning. Well, the CCTV of the company that installed the set will surely tell all.

While we, as Malaysian motorists awaits eagerly the installation of 1200 CCTVs under the A.E.S. program by the Road Transport Department this September 2010, drive carefully.

Don’t forget red means stop!

Observing the traffic light can prevent a catastrophe taking place or even deaths. Incidentally, for your information, beating a traffic light, you’ll be fine RM300 for it. That’s according to the Road Transport Act 1987.

However, if you should choose to beat the traffic light and cause an accident, then you’ll be stopped with Section 41 of the R.T.A. 1987, which is driving dangerously and eventually causing death. And you might even be handed a 2 to 10 years imprisonment.

As a driver of many years experience, there are a few simple things, yet important ones, that a driver can do to prevent accidents.

And today, I will write upon it. Hopefully it would contribute towards helping you to avoid some mishaps. What am I referring to? It is none other than the usage of side mirrors.

Considering the number of vehicles on the road today and also the manner in which drivers today do seem not to follow rules and regulations, accidents can easily happen.

Today’s drivers are easily, on the whole an impatient lot. It is this impatience, which goes on to cause most accidents nowadays.

One important thing that was taught to me when I first took up driving under my tutor in 1970 was being made to always stop at a junction or a “stop, look, go”. I still remember, my instructor then, a Mr. Tiew Hock Lai, insisting that I stop at all “stop, look, go” junctions.

Irregardless of whether there were cars or vehicle approaching from either the right or the left. Looking back or pondering at what my driving instructor advised, as an instructor today, I now realize how wise and good this advice was!

Stopping at a junction takes but a second or two only. But, if you should think carefully about it, the benefits which a driver gets from this simple practice are indeed many. Amongst them obviously is, well you land up avoiding accidents eventually.

This then leads me to think of the advice, my own grandfather, Mr. Ong Hock Chuan, gave to me once. My granddad said to me, I remember very vividly before he died, “Count to ten before you move off at a junction. You’ll not regret it!”.

And how wise my grandfather’s words were. If you have patience as a driver, you’ll be the winner eventually. But ask yourself this, “Are you able to follow what my grandfather requested me?” If you can, then it would definitely do you a world of good.

Well, if you don’t have the patience to count to ten, then make do by all means, count to 5 instead before you move off a junction. Believe me, it would do you a lot of good. Try it once in a while and see the difference.

Anyway, the way you drive, believe me, will be surely much safer. And I also believe it will avoid a lot of near misses or accidents, eventually.

By the way, there is an English idiom which says. “Patience is a virtue”. And in Bahasa Malaysia, there is a peribahasa which claims, “Kesabaran adalah separa iman”.

The second item which I would like to talk about today is that you pay more attention to the use of rear view mirror and side view mirrors, both right and left. It looks as if, most drivers, including myself, fail to make use of our rear view mirror and side mirrors well enough.

Coming out from the shoulder of a road, ask yourself, how many near misses have you had in nearly hitting a car approaching from behind you.

Why do this happen? This, time and time again nearly happens because as a driver, you have failed to observe your rear view mirror and your right hand side mirror long enough before moving off.

Beginning from now onwards, can you make it a point to look at both the rear view mirror and right hand side mirror carefully. Ensure that there are no vehicles that are approaching from behind you before you take off. The time spent to do this will save you a lot of miseries, believe me.

The third item which I would like to mention about is looking at our rear view, our right and left hand side mirror prior to our negotiating a corner, either to the left or right. After giving our signals, make it a point to take a look at our rear, left and right view mirrors. It takes but one or two seconds only. But believe me, the benefits you gain are many.

By looking at the various mirrors before you corner, not only will make you be more confident when you’re negotiating a corner, because you know what’s coming behind you. You’ll then feel more secure.

The last item I would like to talk about is the question of using our mirrors more, especially when we’re doing our reversing. As you reverse, there will be cars and vehicles that will be coming towards our direction, especially from the left.

Most drivers, I believe will not give consideration to the fact that you are reversing. And if you should inevidentally crash into someone while reversing, the law stipulates that you are in fact in the wrong.

Therefore, to prevent such unwarranted accidents from happening, my advice to you would ideally be, reverse carefully. Take a better look at your rear view mirror, you right and left side mirror.

Stop, once in a while if you have to, to avoid knocking or crashing into the vehicles that may be approaching behind you.

Today’s topics have touched upon the need to stop at junctions or “stop, look, go” areas, the necessity to pay more attention to the use of our rear view and side mirrors and finally the use of the above mirrors especially in times of reversing.

Hopefully, advices given will go a long way in preventing you getting into a few unwanted accidents.

And finally, before I end this article, allow me to remind you, car mirrors aren’t intended for a driver to veer into it to see whether his hair is in place. It in fact, has a greater role to perform. Use it correctly.

Have you ever envisaged how it would be like to drive a vehicle without rear view, left and right hand side mirrors? I for one will find it extremely difficult, it not impossible.

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Defensive driving is said to be an Australian concept of driving.

Malaysia is reputedly said to have adopted the above form of driving for its driving schools and institutes all across the country. If something is good, it is not at all wrong for us to initiate it. For there is a saying in the English language which says, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery”.

In Australia, where defensive driving is widely practiced, accidents down there have been reported to have decreased as much as 80%. Just recently, a young reader of this blog wrote in inquiring if I could possibly write an article on defensive driving for the benefit of readers.

Although quite busy currently, by virtue of the fact I have given my word that such an article of this nature would be written in the very near future, I have no alternative except to see to it that this article is written.

What exactly is defensive driving, you might ask? Defensive driving in reality actually is driving safely. When going from one destination to another, a driver should ensure that his journey to the next destination is conducted in a safe and sound manner.

Reaching your destination safe and sound is not sufficient though. In the process of the journey, the driver should see to it that no traffic offenses are committed.

In going, say from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore for instance, a driver exceeds that maximum speed limit of 110 km/h, overtakes at double lines and overtaking on the left. The above are some of the things a good driver should not do. This is not defensive driving at all, sad to say.

A good defensive driver will always ensure that the vehicle which he is using to travel long distance undertakes a pre-check before he takes such a demanding journey. Such a long and arduous journey under hot and humid conditions of the Malaysian weather takes a big toll on any vehicle or car.

Therefore, prior to setting off for the impending journey, a good and competent defensive driver is expected to do a few important things.

The air-conditioner should ideally be checked. Air-con gas should be filled up and the entire unit serviced where need arises. Nothing is more irritating and troubling than a car whose air-con system isn’t working. Drivers have been reported to have been involved in accidents time and time again because of this.

Pre-driving checks also include checks on tyre pressure, tyre treads and conditions. Do remember that a good tyre thread should be at least 60% when going on a long distance journey. Brakes, radiator, fan belts, spare tyre with pressure inside, indicators, horn, brake lights and sufficient engine oil in the engines are but some of the important things a driver should check before he begins a journey.

Do ensure you send your vehicle for servicing at your usual service centre or mechanic prior to your journey back home to your state where you came from.

Before starting on journey home, also ensure your license, vehicle road tax, insurance coverage are all in proper and valid order.

A good and competent defensive driver also sees to it his vehicle is equipped with a handy tool box, fire extinguishers and emergency cones or triangular hazard equipment before a long journey back home is contemplated. Having a spare fan belt and a can of brake fluid in your booth represents good driving habits you are encouraged to adopt.

Many accidents have happened due to the driver not fully prepared for the long and arduous journey. As such, drivers are advised to retire early or sleep early as this would ensure that you’ll be fit and ready for the next day’s journey.

Planning one’s journey is yet another way to ensure that your journey is carried out safe and sound. Proper planning ensures that a driver does not fight against time. To drive impatiently and against time will lead to bad decisions on the road eventually.

Know exactly how many hours you’ll need to reach your destination. Plan where to stop and take a rest, especially at Rest and Recreation (R&R) areas to get your much needed break. It also provides your vehicle a much required break. Engines and tyres become overheated after traveling hundreds of kilometers.

Drivers tend to become tired and sleepy after long hours of driving. A driver having his wife or girlfriend accompanying him beside him on a journey back home is indeed a boon.

In times of break, a good defensive driver is encouraged to do some exercise if one can. Take some hot and exhilarating drinks such as Milo, Nescafe, Horlicks, Tongkat Ali etc wherever possible. Hopefully, all the above suggestions would go towards making your journey back home safe.

In driving back home, a good defensive driver should remain alert at all times.

Nothing is more dangerous than a driver that is not alert. If you feel sleepy or tired, request your 2nd driver to take over.

Make regular stops wherever necessary. It does not matter if the journey back home that you take incurs a longer time than normal. The important thing is that you and your family reach your destination safely. As they say, “better late than never”.

In defensive driving, one is advised to follow the 2, 4, 10 and 12 seconds rule. To follow the above would certainly go a long way towards making you a better driver all round. Readers who are unaware of the above safe driving methods are advised to read up these terms.

One important and safe manner of driving, especially on our expressways is to maintain the maximum speed that is allowed. For your reminder, the maximum speed limit permitted is 110 km/h. Remember, as the saying goes, “speed kills”!

Overtaking at expressways is one of the most dangerous thing a driver can make. In one of my earlier articles on overtaking, I have elaborated very meticulously, step by step how overtaking is to be executed. You are advised to read this article carefully. It would, I’m sure go a long way in assisting you to overtake on expressways.

Talking further on overtaking, overtake only where it is safe. Do not overtake at double lines or single white line. Avoid overtaking when approaching cars are heading towards you. Corners are another place where overtaking is not encouraged. Uphill and downhill are two more places where you should not overtake at all.

In defensive driving, drivers are reminded not to make emergency lanes into another extra lane, especially along expressways. Impatient drivers have often been noted to do this when jams occur. Avoid the tendency to behave in such a manner wherever possible.

In Australia, where the authorities there follow the defensive concept of driving very closely, it has achieved an 80% decrease in the rate of accidents there. But unfortunately, here in Malaysia, defensive form of driving has not achieved the results which the authorities aimed for.

Why is there such a vast disparity between the success obtained by the Australian authorities as compared to our Malaysian counterparts?

Basically the Australian concept of defensive driving syllabus covers:

i) An aptitude test before a student can take up driving.

ii) A 5 hour course for potential drivers on good driving.

iii) Passing of the Highway Code.

iv) A 6 hour theory course.

v) A compulsory practical course of a minimum 40 lessons.

vi) A compulsory 10 hours night driving course.

vii) 2 “P” periods of 2 years each.

viii) “P” drivers cannot drive alone. They must have a passed driver sitting beside them.

ix) “P” drivers are not allowed to drive at night.

Malaysian “P” drivers should be able to evaluate for themselves the different requirements expected of them and their Australian counterparts.

It is little wonder why the defensive form of driving is so successful in Australia, but not in Malaysia. Malaysia, you see does not follow all the recommendations of defensive driving.

If Malaysia wishes to achieve success as accorded by Australia, it has no other alternative but to follow faithfully the complete defensive form of driving as advocated by the Australian authorities. There are no two ways about it!

Malaysian authorities are therefore advised to quickly make a revamp of the entire defensive driving system which is currently used here. Hopefully, it is hoped that we could then emulate Australia’s success of a reduction of 80% in road accidents. In Australia can, Malaysia likewise too can! As we say in Malaysia, Malaysia Boleh!

A lot of time and effort has been put into coming up with this article. Hopefully, readers of this blog will be able to benefit from it. After reading it, readers are able to become safe and defensive drivers. Then, my effort in writing this article would then have been worthwhile after all.

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Amongst the many maneuvers a driver has to perform, overtaking seems to be obviously the most dangerous.

There are in fact 10 procedures, a motorist has to follow in order to overtake another vehicle. Hopefully, with the following advice, you will in future be able to perform this maneuver well and safely.

Basically, the 10 steps are:
i) Following behind the car in front a safe distance.
ii) Observing the area in front of you.
iii) Observing what’s behind you.
iv) Giving signals to the right.
v) Moving to the right.
vi) Speeding up your car.
vii) Communicate with the car you’re overtaking.
viii) Giving signals to the left.
ix) Moving to the left.
x) Continuing with your journey after overtaking.

The above 10 important steps will assist you to overtake another vehicle safely and especially when you’re on an expressway or lebuhraya.

And now, permit me to explain thoroughly and in detail how each and every step given is supposed to be done.

1) Following behind the car in front at a safe distance.

Ideally, you should follow a safe distance behind. Use the 2 seconds rule wherever possible.

2) Observing the area in front of you.

To do this, you are advised to adopt the 12 seconds rule at all times. Look ahead, scan far ahead in front of you. Ensure there are no vehicles approaching ahead of you.

A driver is advised never to take risks. No overtaking is suggested should you observe a motorcycle or another vehicle approaching ahead of you.

In short, the maxim is simply this. In Bahasa Malaysia, this means. “Jangan menguji nasib.” In colloquial English, it literally means, “Do not take risks”. Remember, as drivers, we only live but once.

3) Observing what’s coming behind you.

You should not only observe what’s coming ahead of you, you should in fact be observing what’s coming behind you if you intend to overtake as well.

Ensure that there are no vehicles attempting to overtake you. This can be done with the help of your rear view mirror and your right hand side mirror. Besides, these, you can even turn your head slightly to the back to see if there are any vehicles approaching from behind.

4) Giving signals to the right.

The driver should give signals to the right, to make his intention to overtake known. Ideally, you should practice what is called the 3 seconds rule, whereby the signals are allowed to flash for a period of 3 seconds. This would allow motorists behind to be aware of your intentions.

At the same time, a driver should also continue to adopt the 12 seconds rule. In this aspect, your eyes should scan a distance of at least 100 meters ahead.

5) Moving to the right.

Before attempting to move the right lane, make sure you have enough space with the car that is ahead of you. While attempting to move to the right, look at your rear view mirror and your right side mirror as well to make sure there are no cars or vehicles coming behind you.

If you observe a motorcycle in front of the vehicle on the left lane, you are discouraged from overtaking. Overtaking a vehicle and motorcycle ahead of it implies overtaking 2 vehicles, not one.

The time required to do this will be twice the time it requires to overtake only a car.

6) Speeding up your car.

Before entering the right lane, a driver should ideally change down to a lower gear, the 3rd gear, as you will need extra power whilst overtaking.

7) Communicate with the car you’re overtaking.

As you enter the right lane and when drawing parallel to the vehicle you’re overtaking, communicate with the driver being overtaken by horning or flashing your lights.

At the same time, control your car well and be extra careful. Drivers are also advised to overtake using a speed that’s allowed. At highways, the permitted speed is 90 km/h and 100 km/h at expressway.

8) Giving signals to the left.

The next step in overtaking is to give signals to move back to the left lane after overtaking.

Like in the earlier case, whereby a driver gives his signals to move to the right, in this case 3 seconds is permitted for the signals to flash, which allows the driver being overtaken to be aware of your intentions.

Move only to the left after you can observe the car you’ve overtaken through your rear view mirror. Provide ample and safe distance before moving back to the left hand side of the road.

9) Moving to the left.

Once safely on the left lane, travel along practicing the 2 seconds rule and the 12 seconds rule for observing safe distances in front and at the back.

10) Continuing with your journey after overtaking.

Continue on with your journey while observing the speeding limit.

I have taken much care and thought in attempting to write this important article. Efforts taken to come up with this article has not been easy.

However, it is hoped readers would be able to benefit from it tremendously and that they would be able to execute the steps of overtaking safely in their journey, especially in expressways and highways all across the country.

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Women have since ages been termed as the gentler sex.

To many, the conception of women will always remain as such. So, when a road safety campaign at the University Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, recently announced, “Women drivers are getting more aggressive than their male counterparts”, I was not at all impressed by the claim.

According to an analyst, considering the number of traffic summonses issued and court cases against women drivers today, a trend of aggressive driving has emerged among the fairer sex.

The above claim was made by the Malaysian Crime Foundation. Well, the foundation is entitled to its own opinion. It went on further to claim that men drivers, as a whole, have improved, whereas women are getting more aggressive.

Whether you agree or otherwise with the above statement, you are the best person to decide. This blog on its part, would like to put forward a few factors to support that accidents, in fact is caused by some pertinent factors.

Before we jump to any conclusion, I have been involved with the driving school and institutes for over 40 years now. I would like to inform you that accidents happen to us due to various factors. This article will therefore emphasise upon these factors above.

1) Condition of the driver.

Is a driver calm? Is he or she in good health, alert, sleepy, stressed etc? All these are important factors relevant to be taken into account.

2) Condition of the vehicle.

The brakes, tyres, signal lights, horn and other important items should nonetheless be taken into account. As such, new cars are obviously safer and will be less liable to be involved in an accident.

With this in mind, it’s not that second hand cars cannot be used. What is important for a driver to remember is, always maintain your vehicle in good conditions.

3) The problem of reflections to a driver.

An important factor contributing towards the cause of accidents is without a doubt this problem. At night, drivers face the headlights of on coming vehicles.

With the acute problem of xenon lights facing us today, it is a major contributing factor towards accidents.

The there is the question of reflections posed by strong sunlight, which can affect a driver’s vision. You, as a driver can minimize the above problems by donning sun glasses and tinting your vehicles up to a level permissible by the Road Transport Authorities.

Many articles have been written earlier on this vital subject. You are advised to read them.

The problem of reflections can further be eliminated by not looking into headlights of on coming vehicles and making use of shoulder lines and centre lines found on our roads.

4) The condition of our roads.

Another contributing factor to accidents is the condition of our roads. In certain cases, road wind along endlessly for miles. A good example is the road to Cameron Highlands, especially the old road.

The road to Genting Highlands Resort is another. Especially during the rain, these roads can sometimes be extremely treacherous.

Drive slowly and carefully. Reduce your speed. Use the lower gears ideally, for your own safety. Even the best of drivers can face problems, what more a new and inexperienced one!

Roads can sometimes be in poor conditions. Hole and ditches are sometimes not be repaired by the authorities. These can then be a danger to motorists. And believe me when I say accidents can take place because of these conditions.

5) Pedestrians.

Pedestrians on the road can too pose as a danger to motorists. Motorist have to drive slowly and carefully especially when there are pedestrians who wish to cross roads.

There are certain areas like markets, factories, school premises and playing fields where accidents are likely to happen. A motorist therefore should be careful when driving through such areas.

6) The weather condition.

Weather conditions have often been quoted as one reason for accidents happening. Besides rain, other weather conditions such a haze, dust and misty conditions can also be a cause for accidents to happen. Drivers are advised to drive with care.

The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) will be working with several insurance companies to reward good drivers. However, this plan has to receive the approval of Bank Negara first.

Nevertheless, this proposal is a good idea, and should therefore be applauded.

Finally, it should be reminded that accidents sometimes happen due to our own attitudes. Always remember that driving on our roads nowadays is dangerous. You are therefore advised to drive carefully, be courteous and most of all be a defensive driver, wherever you possibly can.

As the Director-General of the MIROS, Professor Dr. Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah said, “Do not think you are invincible, and most importantly, wear your seat belts. This small piece of cloth may one day save your life!”

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Hardly one week after publishing an article entitled, “Red Means Stop”,

a jointly co-sponsored safety campaign by the Sun newspaper and the Road Transport Department, 3 friends died when the car in which they were traveling, rammed into a lorry at a traffic light junction, in Jalan Haji Sirat, near Klang Utama housing estate just recently.

First of all, why did I take the trouble to highlight the Red Means Stop campaign mentioned above?

Because I feel that ignoring traffic lights, especially when it is Red, is not only a violation of the Road Transport Act (R.T.O.) 1987, such action by irresponsible drivers, especially those driving commercial vehicles who possesses Good Drivers’ Licenses (G.D.L.) is something that cannot be forgiven.

Although, under the R.T.O. 1987, commercial drivers who flout this important clause violates Circular 17 and 18 TS (LN 167/59) or Surat Pekeliling, the courts under Section 119 (2) imposes a RM300 fine.

In the Jalan Haji Sirat case mentioned above, the accident which was said to have taken place at 10 am, Tan Ming Sing, 20 of Teluk Pulai, Loh Jas Son and Yap Wei Ken, both 19, from Kuala Kubu Bahru, Selangor, died at the scene due to serious head and body injuries caused by the high impact.

Two other friends, who were also in the car at the time of accident were also injured.

In the above traffic incident, which of the two vehicles really beat the traffic light, we will never know. Only God knows.

Whatever it is, 3 innocent young lives were snuffed out within minutes. The driver of the commercial vehicle, a lorry and whose driver, must most certainly possess a G.D.L, if he really had beaten the traffic light that fateful morning, would definitely have been charged with driving dangerously and causing death.

Under Section 41 of the R.T.O. 1987, for your information, the courts will provide for the below mentioned punishment:

i) Mandatory jail sentence from 2 – 10 years.

ii) A fine of RM500 – RM2000.

iii) License to be suspended beginning from date of court case until the court decided on prison sentence.

All the above sentences are provided for by Section 41 of the R.T.O. 1987.

Of late, I have been tutoring a female student who happens to be staying around the vicinity where the accident took place. The above accident took place at a busy traffic light junction heading towards Klang Utama housing estate. As a matter of fact, I happen to cross this junction rather frequently daily.

My female student, a Miss Khu, who just finished her S.P.M. exam recently, told me two unusual stories related to this incident.

The 3 friends who died were said to be going to work after having taken a hearty breakfast. Another story being circulated was that the friends were staying in a rented house in Klang Utama.

Stories say the three had without fail, reminded Indonesian maids, working for them at their rented premises, not to forget locking up their house gates each time they left for work every morning.

It was said on the morning on which the accident took place, the trio failed to remind their Indonesian maids to lock up the house gates. It might appear to be strange, but such things do happen.

There is yet another peculiar thing that I heard regarding the incident which took place. Near the junction where the accident happened, there is a rather big mechanic’s shop. In fact, it was right at the spot of the said traffic light junction, barely 20 yards away. Its main entrance in fact faced the traffic light junction.

The strange thing was that, the above mechanic enterprise had C.C.T.V cameras to monitor workers and clients entering its premise. This I presume was for its own security purposes.

Coincidentally, if you could call it that, the C.C.T.V. cameras were functioning and “on” the morning the traffic accident took place.

If you have been reading and following many of my articles, especially on A.E.S. facilities, you should then be in a better position to understand this concept of cameras surveillance.

A.E.S. or Automated Enforcement Surveillance is scheduled to be implemented throughout the whole country very soon, that is September 2010.

When friends and family members heard about the queer coincidence of the above mechanic enterprise having a full recording of how the traffic accident took place, they quickly rushed there to speak to the proprietor of the shop.

Stories say, the C.C.T.V. recording recorded everything that happened. Who in reality beat the traffic light that morning? Was it the car in which 3 friends was traveling the one that beat the traffic light? Or was it the driver of the lorry that in reality beat the traffic light that fateful morning? The proof is all there for one and all to see, in the C.C.T.V tape.

In life, strange things do happen. This appears to be one of the strangest things that I have even come across. Whether you believe what I’m relating to you or not is entirely up to you. You make the decision…

To all drivers approaching a traffic light, do remember what this article has been telling you about. Obey the traffic lights.

As the campaign jointly organized by the Sun newspaper and the Road Transport Department recently implored us, “Red Means Stop”. It could mean a matter of life or death.

And very recently, the Minister of Transport, Datuk Ong Tee Kiat, in another statement just announced his department is currently in the process of roping the NGOs, religious bodies, churches and in fact anyone at all who is willing to co-operate with it to combat the problem of drivers who are reluctant to obey the traffic lights. Catastrophic results can take place, even death.

So, the authorities all out effort are indeed applauded. Syabas, to Datuk Ong and his Road Transport Department officers!

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Many articles have been written pertaining to the Road Transport Act 1987 (R.T.O.).

So far, this blog has paid emphasis to the more serious violations, like Section 81, which involves “illegal racing” and Section 41, which is driving dangerously and eventually causing death.

However, this article intents to highlight a few sections of the R.T.O. 1987, which are seldom mentioned, but are nonetheless important.

We shall begin this article by explaining to our blog readers that not all traffic violations contravene sections of the Road Transport Act 1987. Not all of the above violations are against sections of the Act.

Some of these violations are embedded in what is known as circular or surat-surat pekeliling, which are issued by the Transport Department from time to time.

Amongst the lesser known traffic violation included:

1) Failure to produce one’s driving license.

Some drivers may not be aware, but failure to produce one’s driving license is deemed as an offense. Under Section 58 (2) of the R.T.O. 1987, a fine of RM150 awaits you. So drivers are advised to bring along your licenses whilst you drive.

2) Theft or stealing of a vehicle.

Removing or taking a vehicle without permission represents an offense. In fact, this action tantamounts to stealing or theft. For this, Section 51 which is a court case offense which carries with it a RM2000 or 6 months imprisonment or both to the offender.

3) Failure to report to the police an accident within 24 hours.

Many motorists are unaware that they have to make a report to a police station if they are involved in an accident. Section 52 (1) requires a driver to make a compulsory report about the accident within a span of 24 hours. Failure to do so, be advised, is an offense. The fine is RM100.

4) Not stopping when stopped at a police road block.

Some youngsters especially, fail to stop at police road blocks. Likewise the same happens at road blocks conducted by the J.P.J. as well. Such actions by drivers, contravenes Section 55 of the R.T.O. 1987. You can be fined a tune of RM300.

5) Failure to stop at pedestrian crossing.

Some drivers are not aware that a failure to stop a pedestrian crossing or zebra crossing constitutes an offense. It in fact violates Section 78 (2). Unless you are willing to part with a sum of RM300, refrain from doing such a thing.

6) Beating the traffic light.

It’s a RM200 fine for violating Section 79 (2) of the R.T.O. 1987. You are hereby advised not to resort to such a action.

Most traffic lights, especially in larger towns such as Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Pulau Pinang, Johor Bahru etc. are reputed to be now adopting the Automated Enforcement System (A.E.S.).

The purpose of the above system is to apprehend motorists who are indisciplined. So all drivers, please beware if you have no intention of being caught. The A.E.S. system will be launched soon in Perak and Selangor.

Although illegal racing or merempit motor has been mentioned over and over again in articles written much earlier, I feel it is not a waste of time making a mention of it another time. Violation of the Section 81 of the R.T.O. carries with it a hefty RM2000 fine or a 6 months prison sentence or both.

On top of that, a person who’s involved in such an activity can have his license suspended for a period of 1 year.

8) Not wearing a seat belt while driving.

Not wearing a seat belt happens to be a serious offense. If during a practical test a student undergoes, he or she loses 5 points, thereby failing the test automatically. For you information, you need a minimum of 16 to get through your test.

However, should a motorist be unlucky enough to be apprehended by either police officer or J.P.J. official, under circular K4 MV (SSB) 78 P.U. A 378/78, the offender is liable to be fined a sum of RM100 for the offense.

9) Not using headlights for motorcycles during the day / night.

In Malaysia, it’s compulsory that motorcyclists use their headlights during the day as well as the night. A failure to do this is a RM100 fine under directive of a department circular K.96 (A) MV (C/U).

10) Not wearing a helmet by motorcyclist.

What happens when a motorcyclist does not wear a helmet? What section of the R.T.O. 1987 has he or she contravened?

K4 MS (SH) is the circular which demands that a motorcyclist contravening the above law of the R.T.O. 1987, can be fined a sum of RM100 for this offense.

As 10 important sections of the R.T.O. 1987 has already been highlighted in this article, I feel it is sufficient for blog readers’ perusal for the time being.

As such, a decision has then been made to terminate the article at this juncture, as too lengthy an article will tend to bore some readers.

Rest assured, in a further forth coming article, an attempt to pin-point other sections of the R.T.O. 1987 will be made.

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