Hazlin Hassan
Malaysia Correspondent
Watch out, Big Brother's watching
October 08, 2009 Thursday, 06:46 PM
Hazlin Hassan on bad S'porean drivers in M'sia and a system meant to stop them. <hr style="border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-width: 1px 0pt 0pt; margin: 15px 0pt; height: 0pt;">
IN KUALA LUMPUR
A NEW system to be implemented here soon could see more Singaporeans paying fines for traffic offences. Rightly or wrongly, Singaporeans have the unfortunate image of being notorious drivers while on Malaysian roads. During the long weekend of the Hari Raya celebrations last month, Malaysians took to the roads, to head back to their kampungs and for mini-breaks. And so did many Singaporeans. Whether you were on the highway heading north to Penang, or south towards Malacca, one could not help but notice the many Singapore-registered cars alongside the Malaysian ones. While the sight of Singaporean cars in the country could only mean that Singaporeans were helping in some way to boost the Malaysian economy, not all Malaysians were happy with their presence.
A few complained angrily in the blogosphere, saying that the Singaporean drivers drove like demons, went over the speed limit, tailgated dangerously, and parked at their whims and fancies. This seems to be a perennial problem, and not just exclusive to the Hari Raya period. Many Malaysians see Singaporeans as driving badly every time they cross the Causeway. One public relations executive complained on his Facebook account during Hari Raya: "Whenever Singaporeans enter Malaysia, they drive like mad, don't respect our traffic laws at all, especially on the North South Expressway (NSE). Shame on you!" he added. A fund manager who drove from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca over the Hari Raya holidays said he saw Singapore-registered cars using the emergency lanes on the NSE to avoid the crawl. In Malacca, he saw them parked illegally, taking up an entire lane, while Singaporeans tucked into local specialty "satay celup" at a nearby restaurant.
One Singaporean who works here even admitted to me that he'd driven his car here last week with an expired road tax. Some say Singaporeans drive badly here because they are unable to do so at home, due to strict enforcement. Indeed it is hard to enforce traffic rules here, mainly due to a shortage of resources. Even Malaysians tend to flout traffic laws as they think they can get away with it. Drivers who park illegally, speed and sometimes even run a red light are common here. And that's just the cars. The motorcycles are even worse, with cyclists going the wrong way down a street, making illegal turns, not having working lights at night or even donning a helmet. In any case, some Malaysians feel it is time to act tougher on errant Singaporean drivers. But it is not easy to enforce fines once they cross the Causeway back into the republic. A traffic police officer who declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said that the Malaysian authorities were unable to post summonses to Singaporean addresses. "We haven't got authorisation to obtain the addresses of Singaporean offenders," he told The Straits Times.
At one time, there was a police unit in the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore, for Singaporeans to pay their summonses. But it only managed to last for one month. Singaporeans demanded photographic evidence of their offences but at the same time, did not want to go through the hassle of requesting and paying for the photos. Still, Singaporeans who are determined to pay their summonses, can go to any police station in Johor and check their records, he said. And offenders who re-enter the country will be screened and stopped at Customs if they have any outstanding summonses. But the system is evidently not perfect. An estimated four out of 10 offenders from Singapore actually bother to pay their fines, he said. But thanks to a new system, Singaporeans may not have to wait until a return trip to Malaysia, to be slapped with a summons. "We are now starting to implement a new system, the Automated Enforcement System, that uses CCTV on the highways. So if you violate any laws, you can't escape," said the traffic cop. With the CCTV, it will be easier to catch errant drivers, whether they are locals and foreigners.
The cameras will zoom in on your registration number. And while a decision on the method of issuing summonses hasn't been finalised yet, fines will either be issued on-the-spot or on the way out of the country. According to reports, the unmanned cameras will be located at at least 800 spots around the country. The system, which is estimated to cost more than RM300 million (S$123 million) can detect drivers who beat traffic lights, overtake on the left or across double lines, tailgate, drive on the emergency lanes and even overload. At present, police use laser digital cameras which have to be manually operated. The drawback is that they cannot be used when it rains. And if three vehicles are speeding at the same time, the device can only capture one vehicle. The AES has apparently already been used in the US, Britain and Australia. But most Singaporeans probably need not worry, as they are generally civic-minded, and use seatbelts, said the officer. "It's just that when they come here, they tend to drive a bit fast because the NSE is 966 kilometres long. In Singapore, they can't go that far on their highways."
