Driving in KayEl

I’ve been back in Malaysia for almost 3 years now and have been driving in KL since. After spending several years abroad, I can say that I am no longer the driver that I used to be – I am far more patient and break less rules these days. However, there are a bunch of things about KL drivers that piss me off:

• Greedy algorithm – KL drivers have this greedy algorithm running in their heads. You give them an inch and they will take it, even if it is ultimately to their detriment. Orang tamak selalu rugi. This often happens at traffic light junctions and round-abouts. Sometimes, all they need to do is to back-off and the traffic would flow smoothly but KL drivers would rather squeeze and jam the whole place up.
• Sense of entitlement – KL drivers have this notion that they are the most important people on the road. They will speed on the right lane even though they wish to exit left, and only move to the left when they are right up to the exit. As a result, they will jam up all the lanes by blocking the legitimate traffic with their insistence to exit when they are well past the point.
• Crazy taxis – KL taxis are dangerous. I have learned to never ever follow or even drive close to a taxi. They would randomly slow down, speed up, change lanes etc. I guess that this is partially because they are unfamiliar with the road but that’s no excuse with cheap GPS available these days. They really like to drive well below the speed limit, hogging up the road.
• Super speedsters – KL speeders think that they are the boss. If you are on the fast lane, driving real fast, they will flash and tail-gate you if you are not fast enough. These speeders are usually driving well beyond the speed limit and will not hesitate to engage in all manner of dangerous driving in order to get their way. I usually just ignore them.
• Parking woes – KL drivers think that they own the roads and will just park anywhere they please. Some cars even have permanent notices on their dash-board with the driver’s phone number. This has become standard practice where they will double and triple park and expect you to call them if they are blocking you. Roads are parked until there is only a single-lane left for bi-directional traffic. Idiots.

I’m sure that there are lots more issues with driving in KL but these are some that cropped into my head at this moment.