It rained yesterday. Had 20 minutes to get to work. No big deal - it's a tropical country, we're used to rain. Or at least we damn well should be!! (Unsurprisingly, it took me 45 minutes to get to work yesterday). If malaysians were to be judged by our behaviour on the roads on a rainy day, one would think that rain is an alien concept to us.
We don't know how to behave on the roads when it rains. Expect massive jams. Expect tortoises and snails to overtake the cars on the road. Expect hazard lights to be on. Expect headlights to be off.
Don't expect to get to your destination on time. All because water's coming down from the sky.
I think the curriculum taught in driving schools is at fault. We were never taught how to behave or react when it rains. I think the driving schools should incorporate a driving simulator that simulates all the traffic and weather conditions that malaysians should get used to. How do you react when it suddenly starts pouring while you're driving? Do you slow down to 5km/h or do you slow down to a reasonable speed limit? What's a reasonable speed limit when it rains? Is the reasonable speed limit applicable on all roads? What do you do when a souped up wira is flashing you to get out of the fast lane because you're going at 110km/h (and he wants to go faster obviously)?
I would suggest the geeks team up with the souped up wira owners and come up with a driving simulator and propose it to the RTD. Maybe then I could get to the office in 20 minutes on a rainy day.
