JAN 29 — Now that you are ready to begin your journey, let’s take a look at how you can minimise the danger, and survive the traffic. All we need is about 20 per cent of the populace to read this article and follow the guidelines (I know it is a tall order, but by sharing this with as many people as you can, we will slowly turn Malaysia into a nation with safer drivers).

Slow cars should keep to the left lane.

Firstly, driving on the highway is not the same as driving in the city. Yes, there may be multiple lanes, but there is a reason why they are there. Remember the right-most lane is the fast lane – this is meant primarily for overtaking. If you look at the closely bunched up traffic on the highways, it is usually caused by one or two or more slow cars either going very slowly or overtaking very slowly on the fast lane.

If you have to overtake, do it smartly, and put your foot down on the accelerator – once you have done your overtaking move, go back into the middle or left lane. By doing this, you allow faster cars to overtake you and go away, not hound you from behind. Even if you have to speed up a little more than the speed limit, it is okay to do so in the interests of safety – after that you can go back to the speed limit. Also remember to get smartly back into the middle or left lane after your overtaking move and not take forever to do it.

A general rule of thumb is that if you find many people overtaking you from your left, you are going too slowly. If they overtake you on the left and cut in really close to you or horn at you or greet you with a finger, it probably means you are hogging the road.

Secondly, avoid driving in your own little traffic jam – by this I mean about 10 or 20 cars moving at the same speed, in the same direction, on all lanes. Besides holding up traffic, you are also endangering yourself, because you may have cars all around, and on long distances, what with fatigue and drowsiness setting in, accidents can happen. Besides, if someone else has an accident, a tyre blowout, or anything that will cause a disruption to the traffic, you may get caught up in a multiple accident situation.

To avoid situations like the above, you have two choices – one is to accelerate and pull away from the crowd, and the other is to keep to the left, let everyone overtake you, then resume driving at a pace comfortable to you. From experience, the former seems to be the better option because it is highly likely that the moving jam you are in is caused by some slow traffic at the front that is holding everyone back.

Thirdly, if you intend to drive slowly, please keep to the left lane. There is nothing wrong with wanting to drive slowly, especially if you are not used to high speed, but do not be a nuisance to others. If you happen to come up to another car that is even slower than you, the overtaking smartly rule applies. Keep a reasonable distance between yourself and the car in front. Generally, you should have at least 10 metres for every 10 kph of speed. If after reading this, you still think that you are entitled to drive in the fast lane just because you are at the speed limit, remember that if you do this, you are also inviting disaster because people behind you will get very upset, and tempers will flare – in driving terms, this is called ‘red mist’, when normal reasoning goes out the window.

Fourthly, remember to keep to your lane. Lane discipline is really lacking in this country. By sticking to the lane you are on, at least the driver behind can predict where you will be a couple of seconds later. Sudden lane changes are dangerous, so remember to use your turn signals to indicate an intended change of lane or direction, not at the last second, but well before.

Keep your eyes on the rear view mirrors. The rear view mirror is not for putting make-up on or for looking at your rear passengers’ faces when you talk to them. Adjust the side mirrors too, so that you can see along the sides of your vehicle. A good driver looks in the rear view mirror at least once every seven seconds. If you are in the fast lane, and you see a faster vehicle approaching from behind, do not wait for that vehicle to ‘flash’ at you – you should move over well before, ad believe it or not, this is actually for your own safety – you do not want to be rear-ended.

Every driver seems to like hogging the fast lane.

Fifthly, use your gears – shift down a gear or two before overtaking – by doing this, you shorten your TED (Time Exposed to Danger) because your car can accelerate faster in a lower gear. This is especially so on trunk roads where there is oncoming traffic. When overtaking, it is always advisable to slow down to about the same speed as the car you are about to overtake, and then accelerate to overtake. This way, you are able to react if the driver in front does a sudden lane change or does something stupid. The higher the differential speed between yourself and the car you are about to overtake, the higher the danger.

Sixthly, follow the flow. Whilst I have nothing against people driving slowly, it does not help the traffic situation if you drive at 80 kph when everyone else is doing 100 kph. You will know that this is the case if you find everyone else overtaking you. If you can, you should speed up, and ‘Go With The Flow’. If you cannot, then you probably shouldn’t be driving in the first place.

Lastly, please remember that fatigue will creep in eventually. The worst times of day are around 11.00am, when people have driven for more than two hours (not everybody read my last article on this), and after lunch, when all your blood rushes to your stomach. You may still be alert, but remember there are hundreds out there, also driving long distances. Stop for a breather at least once every two hours.

I observe all of the above, and more, not only during CNY, but every day on the road. And if my driving record means anything, I have had an accident-free driving period of 40 years, which does not take into account things that happen during my race and rally days.