Welcome to My Pity Party

It's been a loooooong week! I am rightfully tired by all the 'excitement' of this week alone. I actually copied some templates from work, thinking that I could work on them this weekend but apparently I have no such luck. The download failed. Looks like I might as well enjoy the holidays after all.

I'll be leaving for Johor on Monday, and I have this funny feeling that the highways will be jam-packed with vehicles. Apparently Monday is a school day. That was one item that I did not take into account when I bought the tickets back. Oh well, so long as I am not the person behind the wheel, it's fine. I tend to get stressed up & agitated whenever I am caught in the traffic jam. Especially in KL where the traffic's simply brutal.

Talking about traffic and drivers, I have made some observations about Malaysian drivers (and motorcyclists) from my 13 years of driving experience:-

• Some drivers switch on their vehicles' hazard lights during heavy rain. My question to them: How would other drivers be able to distinguish a car that has broken down (and not moving) from the moving ones in that scenario?
• Motorbike riders does not seem to want to stop so long as they still can help it. Be it at traffic lights, stop signs and ESPECIALLY zebra crossings.
• Emergency lanes are used as of right, especially during morning traffic.
• Where there is an actual emergency with blaring sirens, the ambulance will almost always be tailed by a group of other vehicles taking advantage of the parted traffic. The source of the entourage remains a mystery to me. "Kiasu"ism at its best? Maybe.
• Foreign words in certain driver's dictionary consist of: "Beri Laluan", "Berhenti" and "Jalan Sehala", among others.
• Signals are almost never used by some drivers, especially when turning into a junction and another car (or a group of cars) are desperately waiting to exit that same junction.
• Despite the unpopularity of use for signals (and in certain cases, brakes) the car horn appear to have greater appeal. Uses for horns include: to warn the car in front the SECOND the traffic light changes to green; to mark a territory where another driver gives a signal to switch lanes (or even thinks of doing so); or as a method of greeting in front of a friend's house, in a residential area, at midnight.
• Some cars will tailgate and harass you to no end when you are on the fast lane, driving at the speed limit sanctioned by local traffic laws.
• A yellow fire hydrant next to a 'no parking' sign may be read by some drivers as "Park Here" (because nobody else is).

Having said that however, there is a beacon of light in the drivers who come under the "Exemplary" category. To them I say keep the light shining dudes! On my part, I have reduced my driving requirements to the bare minimum.

I hope and pray that all drivers will keep a level head when driving home this Deepavali/ Hari Raya season. Patience, after all, is indeed a virtue and may make a difference between life and death on our Malaysian highways.