Driving in Malaysia

Where is the survey link?

xxxriainxxx - the purpose was to stimulate discussion on the forum, so no link.

Proton and Perodua cars for the Malaysian market, quite rightly, do not have heaters as they would never be used.  Why, then, are they fitted with rear-view mirrors and indicator lights when they are never used either.

For most drivers in Malaysia, it is fine to change lanes without an indicator. And if you want to change lanes and you show the indicator, people rarely care about it, as they still try to zoom past you.
In addition to this, a lot of Proton Satria drivers tend to think they are driving a supercar, but end up creating just plain noise. And then there are some luxury car douchebags who drive without the slightest regards for their and others' safety
But overall, driving in Malaysia is still better than driving in India, where people attempt to run over you

As a result of a stroke I am disabled so always try to use pedestrian crossings, although much of the time they are used as free parking spaces for Mercedes whose drivers presumably cannot afford a few ringgit for parking legally. Even if the pedestrian crossing is free, drivers (again mainly of expensive cars) have tried to run me down.  On one occasion, I assumed the driver had not seen me so I tapped on the roof of his car (indicating how close he was to me).  He stopped then began to berate me and threatened to bring the police.  Perhaps it's their constitutional "supremacy" that makes these people believe that they can drive and park anywhere, especially on Fridays.

I lived in the Channel Islands before coming here so it is very much chalk and cheese to compare. But even basic rules when compared to most other countries sadly do not seem to apply. No one has any road sense that isn't completely selfish and downright dangerous.
Etiquette is out the window but then manners in general are here to also.
It makes no sense how the majority of drivers here have received their licences. Indicating and pulling out without waiting. That's if you get any indication at all. The moped drivers make the situation even worse. No wonder there are so many fatalities.
Lane hopping seems to be a favourite as is driving on the hard shoulder. And I have yet to see someone actually make a conscious effort to move out of the way when an emergency vehicle requires to get through.
Rant over.
Lawrence.

I have the experience for driving in Kalulumpur every one can drive freely but one of the worst situation is that u have to stop and wait for long que for getting Ticket .

I see its not bad so far

I lived 5 years in Malaysia worked as a General Manager in a Local chain Hotel by the name of Wilayah Group, I love driving in Malaysia, I drove almost all parts (States) of Malaysia expect Sabah Sarawak and Lankawi.

Kuala Lumpur and other parts in Malaysia are very driving friendly if I compare from my own Country, People are driving car are very sophisticated compare to the motor bikers, Bikers are rude, noisy and out of control I think govt of Malaysia seriously look into this matter. (Specially on Sundays)

Regards

I am from the UK and have been in Malaysia for 18 months

Some very frightening moments for me. My overall impression is of rude and inconsiderate motorists and some very dangerous behaviours. Being asked to post here made me look at the road deaths statistics. You are about 7 times more likely to be in a fatal road incident in Malaysia compared to the UK.
Lack of use of indicators, moving lanes at the last moment
Driving to close behind on the motorway to try to get you to move over even when you cannot.
Motorcyclists are crazy and rude. Driving on the wrong side of the roads. Crazy layout of some of the roads. I would say that enforcement of the driving standards are poor and I have seen police stand by when motorclyclists run red lights and do nothing. I the rules are not enforced then people think they can do whatever they want. Anyway rant over. I enjoy the country and the people but I think a lot of Malaysian drivers grow horns and a tail when they get into the car.

Hi!
I'm living in Kota Kinabalu , Sabah   so far driving here is ok , except  people who never use indicator when they change lanes , and unfortunately majority dont.. Another thing is increasing traffic,  i lived here 3 years ago and in my opinion traffic increased  like 40% ...

They are driving here like crazy and they did not even follow the law and always run the red light some driver always cut the que..!

Before I shifted to Penang I went my whole life without accidents. Since Penang for the past three years I have had seven accidents. I will say they were all my fault.

Westerners are taught to drive well and to obey the law. The penalties are harsh, the minimum summons price in US is about RM1500 and you cannot bribe it down and you must pay it. Its a deterrent for many.

What happens if you obey the law and the next guy doesnt?  A red light means STOP, and so we stop. And I stopped. But the guy behind me never intended to stop and so he hit me. Another case, when we westerners turn left, we use indicators and make the turn. Where in that scene does the law say that someone can pass you on the LEFT side when you are in the middle of a LEFT turn? Sure we are going to have an accident and we did. A yellow box means STOP when the lanes are full and someone needs to drive out on to the street. And so I stop. But others ignore the meaning of the yellow box and so we have another accident. In my country there is a law against using cell phones while driving but here, if any law, nobody cares.  So, we had another accident when the lady behind me slammed into my rear while she was texting.

Besides my accidents I have had hundreds of near-misses, the most common of which is a motorbike passing right through a red light while you have the green light. The blatant disregard for laws by bikers has caused Lim Guan Eng of Penang to re-evaluate if bikes should even be allowed on the roads at all. I have been in correspondence with him to again push Malaysia to adopt US-based Motorcycle Safety Foundation courses in order to force bikers to learn to ride and obey laws properly. It would be the first in Asia if its implemented and Im pushing hard.

My accidents were my fault NOT because I disobeyed the law but because I refused to "go with the flow" in Malaysia. And thats the warning to newcomers and especially westerners who drove within the law in their own countries. Going with the flow means breaking most all JPJ laws as well as common sense laws but thats how they drive here and stay alive too.

My problem with breaking laws to stay alive means I pick up new habits and if I take those habits back to my country I will get 40 summons everyday. Thats the conflict westerners are going to face in Malaysia and its much worse in Vietnam, too. A case can almost be made for westerners not to drive here at all.

And dont think the police can save you. Here in Penang there is almost zero enforcement of traffic laws and when you make a report for an accident, in order for the police to make a judgement in your favor, BOTH parties have to tell the same story. I have never won a case by telling the truth. In the case of the phone lady hitting me, her husband ran to the station and told the police his wife was confused, it was ME to was swimming like a fish through traffic and slammed into her car. That conflict of stories made it impossible for the police to say what the truth was and they threw out the case. In each of my accidents I had to pay my own damages because the other person refused to tell the truth of what happened. In one accident, the driver threw RM50 out his window and drove away.

Welcome to Malaysia!

This is misery 

Many young Malaysians  will openly admit they paid a bribe to get their driving licenses. You reap what you sow!

My main issue is with Alphard and Vellfire drivers who all seem to all suffer from SMS (small manhood syndrome) and drive like white van drivers on crack. If doing a school run drive even faster.

Malaysian rules are quite simple. 5 line motorway means 4th from left is for Proton drivers with a maximum speed of 60 kph. The inside lane is for overtaking and the hard shoulder is for kampung drivers going in the opposite direction of everyone else.

Pedestrians hit anywhere except on a pavement (excl motorbikes) means it is the pedestrians fault (this is actually true).

Horrendous rush hour traffic and toll roads, but my biggest bugbear are the "U" turns, I hate these and find them so unsafe, much prefer the roundabout system from the UK, the best way to avoid paying the road tolls though is to drive a motorbike as they are free from tolls, the best thing about driving in Malaysia is the inexpensive petrol and the new very inexpensive Perodua Axia, this can be bought new if you buy the basic manual version for around £5,000. Kenneth

People are thoughtless drivers in general. Courtesy is lacking and generally drivers only look out for themselves. Young people who are usually driving Myvis are the main culprits. Although I am a woman I find from personal experience that women are the least courteous on the road, they jump lanes, squeeze in, do not give way, etc. However, I note in the area i live that people are attempting to name and shame errant drivers and parkers on FB and local area forums, so things might change.

As an expat I have spent a few years driving in KL and the tourist shuttle to Malacca and occasional drive to Singapore.
The thing to remember is to anticipate what others will do based on the assumption that their mother owns the road so they will do what they want. 
Lanes mean nothing,  no one can steer their car in a straight line... it seems lanes are for meandering across
Double and Triple parking is the norm, why have to park so far from the noodles stand.
Speed limits mean nothing, those with fast cars will go way to fast and those in clapped out protons will think that they can.
Tail gating is the polite way to say get out of my way.

If you are alert, do not get enraged and enjoy the scenery,  driving in Malaysia can be a pleasure.

And we havent even touched on revenge.

Did any of you know that its a statistic that 70%+ of drivers carry weapons in their cars? Most common is a baseball bat or steel rod but there are many options. They use these to settle problems right away....which is very unsettling. Im only posting this because the scene is ludicrous: One bad driver competing with another bad driver. "Yeah i cut you off, so what? Oh, whats this, now you cut ME off? You die!" Im sorry to say ive seen people beating each other up, scratching each others cars, cursing each other to high heaven.

I could have used a bat a few times. I dont carry one on the bike only because I havent figured out how to hide it yet. If I had a bat I would have used it on that crazy lady who stalked me on the Damansara highway to play a road rage game even though I was doing my best just to get away from her. But you can drop a bag of nails out the window, toss a bottle of paint or even eggs which will wreck the paint.

I wasnt like this before Malaysia but if you drive/ride in Asia long enough you will understand where the feeling comes from. Defensive driving has a different meaning here...and Vietnam...and Thailand.........in Thailand they just shoot you with a gun. "NOW will you get out of my way?"

It should go without saying i dont advocate violence, nobody should do that. Problem in Malaysia  and around Asia is that there is nearly no education, enforcement or justice and that has led drivers to take matters into their own hands which only makes things worse. In Vision 2020, this would all have to come to a screeching halt and im at a loss to say how that might ever actually come about, given the existing genetic, dyed in the wool thinking.

I experienced driving into irrepaired holes on main roads countless times. I witnessed a ruthless driver stopped a family car by force on a major highway (puchong). I saw msia fat policemen on bikes took a u-turn at the end of the road connected to the roundabout, it was like a short cut to them. I heard story that policemen made false accusation to someone (often local Chinese) who didn't actually breach road regulation in order to get bribery.

Lawlessness prevails in msia/asia, if you want drive there, you better be as rough as others and learn the tricks to get round problems (incl police).

Samsam is right, sorry to say. The nice way, the right way, the decent way, the educated way, those things dont work and if you continue to try them you wind up further behind. Asia wont change for those things but you can change to join them and outdo them with better tricks and treachery and deceit. The worst that can happen is that you'll stay alive and out of jail and courts. Is that so bad?

Yeah....here is an example of governmental deceit. During a downpour, I hit an unseen construction hole in the middle of the road on my bike which caused RM400 in damage. When I went to complain at the relevant department about what happened and that they should have warned people away from it and who is going to pay my damage, they denied it existed. We made an appointment for the next day for them to come look at it. We met. But unknown to me, they got there first and covered and tarred-over the hole. When we met, they said, WHAT HOLE? End of case, no case. Dirty %^$tards. And me, trying to do the right thing, totally lost the case. Thats how it is here. I should have re-thought everything before I went to visit them, or do something else about it, or something, anything but what I did do. Even if I have videotaped the incident there is still no proof of the date and time and place, they can simply say the video is fake or doctored to discredit them. You cant win anything in Asia by western-normal ways. Learn to think like an Asian first.