Self drive guide and Malaysia travel tips

Driving Malaysia is a compilation of my driving experience for 12 years on trunk (country road) and highway or expressway.

Besides, I also gather some tips some fellow “senior” driver too.

Driving is a very enjoyable past time to me. I will always take time off to drive my wife and baby around town at least twice a week.

Another positive side of driving her is that Malaysia climate is most suitable to drive all year round, as this not a 4 season’s country.

All you need to do is put on an alert mode while driving in this country.

In this article, I will suggest you to pay attention to four types of vehicle should you decided to drive in Malaysia highway and in this city.

They are…The F1 wannabe cars, the motorcycles, the F1 wannabe long distance bus (locally known as express bus) and the aging trucks/lorries.

Other than that, driving in Malaysia is a very enjoyable thing to do.

I will suggest you to check with your local AA for you to obtain international driving license in Malaysia.

Ready? Good! Fasten your seatbelt. Let’s hit the road

Driving tips and vehicle safety

~ Always lock car doors when driving around the city.

~ Buy an accurate and current road/street directory in your vehicle. A Malaysia car GPS navigation system is the best.

Or you could the do the old way... Ask the friendly local!

~Have a good quality cassette player in the car as the traffic delays can be lengthy. But I will recommend you to tune in the local radio station.

As they will provide you the latest traffic update. Yes! We’ve English language radio station too.

~It is advisable to keep a reasonable amount of petrol in the car. I would say your petrol should last you another 10 km if in the city drive.

~And 20-30 km of petrol/gas if you are driving for out of town.

~If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, you are obliged to report it to the Police Station within 24 hours. This is very important, should you need to file insurance claims.

~all Malaysian cars are right hand drive and we follow the British system of Highway Code.

~Traffic drives on the left, so if you are used to American system. Just always remember, drive on your left.

A very good reminder, if you see the car coming from opposite in your lane. You could possibly drive in the wrong side of the road!

~Never travel on the right lane unless you are overtaking or driving fast enough not to cause a long jam behind you

~ It is compulsory to wear a seatbelt. The speed limits are 60kph (37mph) in the city, 90kph (56mph) on main country roads and 110kph (69mph) on highways and expressways.

~If you need to drink, take a taxi or find a companion who did not drink. Drink driving is on offence that is taken very seriously in Malaysia, and is punished with large fines or imprisonment.

~be very careful. Although driving standards are good, Malaysia still has its share of drivers who take risks such as overtaking on blind corners, speeding in heavy rainfall and jumping red traffic lights.

Well that’s a part of driving habit in Malaysia culture. ~Red traffic lights don’t always mean “STOP”. No, they are not color blind. If the traffic lights have just changed many cars will carry on through them.

So be careful if you are approaching a light that has just gone green.

Motorcyclists will often go through any red traffic light. Slow down and look carefully. Do not travel rapidly towards a traffic light that has just turned green.

~If you do make a driving gaffe and you really want to say you're sorry, a hand on the forehead and an expression of "I'm Sorry!" might help

~Trucks cannot react as fast as cars, so do not cut in front of them and then slow down, especially not a gas truck.

~ Don’t stop if a passing motorist tells you that something is wrong with your vehicle or if someone bumps you from behind. Pull into the nearest service station or well-lit public area. Call the police

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Night Driving

In expressway/highway, there’s light when you are approaching any toll exit. Which means not all part of the expressway is lights .So does the trunk road of villages in Malaysia.

~ study road maps and other written directions carefully before starting out at night.

If you need to slow down and watch carefully for highway, signs pull over to the left side. And switch on the hazards lights to alert other motorist.

Pedestrians, animals, slow-moving vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles that may be on the road ahead of you. All of them are more difficult to see at night.

~ keep your eyes moving...from side to side, near to far ahead, and so forth, this will prevent eye fatigue.

I will suggest you to pull over at any rest area. Most of the rest area in the expressway is build with food court, shower and prayer chapel for the Muslim.

So it’s another reason to enjoy Malaysia foods in the highway.

~ You should never have your vehicle’s headlights on high beam when you are within approximately 300 meter of an oncoming vehicle.

You should also switch to low beam when you are following another vehicle.

~ Highway speed limits are there for good reason, be sure to obey them even if you are familiar with the roadway.

The speed limits are set for many reasons, but one of the most important is that they protect you from the unexpected.

HANDLING EMERGENCIES

Are you able to response to the roadside emergency calmly and able to protect your loved one before any assistance arrived?

Below are the tips to follow:

~ pull your vehicle off the main highway as far as possible to the left shoulder.

~ turn on emergency flashers if you have them. If not, leave your headlights on low beam and turn on your right turn signal.

~ Put up the hood of the car unless it is raining.

~ If you have flares or reflectors place them from 5 meter behind your vehicle. This will warn other traffic where your vehicle is parked.

~ If you must leave your vehicle carry a flashlight or lantern. Malaysia expressways are well equipped to handle emergency.

Apart from regular patrolling by highway patrol unit, there is roadside phone assistance. This marked with “S.O.S” word. The S.O.S emergency phones are normally place every 2 km along the highway.

~ In case of emergency, please ask for the assistance of the local to contact nearest police station. However, I will suggest you to keep one police’s number (dial 999) for any emergency.

Driving in heavy rain....

~Motorcyclists, Rain and Bridges.

Careful on these motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable and the practice in Malaysia is to shelter under the nearest bridge.

It is very common to find the slow lane full of parked motorbikes when you enter a tunnel or go under a bridge.

The rule is tried not to enter a tunnel or bridge in the slow lane unless you can clearly see there are no bikes waiting there.

~ Blinking hazard light

In Malaysia, it is quite common for drivers to do this when they drive slowly in heavy rain; apparently, at one time the government suggested this.

Some motorists will also put on their hazard lights in preference to side lights when they enter a tunnel.

My suggestion is:

Do not put on the blinking hazard light in heavy rain. You will confuse the other motorist.

Just turn on your headlight will be just fine.

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There are other natural hazard that you should take notice:

List of landslide-prone areas

· km of Bukit Lanjan-Jalan Duta on North-South Expressway Northern route

· km of Gunung Ma'okil between Pagoh-Yong Peng on North- South Expressway Southern route .

· km of Puchong-Seri Kembangan on Damansara-Puchong Expressway near Puchong Selatan toll plaza.

· km 15 of Skudai-Senai (Utara) on North-South Expressway Southern route near Skudai toll plaza.

· km of Bukit Lanjan between Kota Damansara-Bukit Lanjan on New Klang Valley Expressway

· km of Gua Tempurung between Gopeng-Tapah on North-South Expressway Northern route

· km of Bukit Merah between Bukit Merah-Taiping (Utara) on North-South Expressway Northern route

· km of Sungai Perak-Jelapang Toll Plaza on North-South Expressway Northern route

· km of Bukit Berapit between Changkat Jering-Kuala Kangsar on North-South Expressway Northern route · km of Gombak-Genting Sempah on Karak Expressway

· km of Bukit Tinggi-Bentong on Karak Expressway

List of crosswind-prone areas

· km of Senawang-Pedas/Linggi on North-South Expressway Southern route

· km of Alor Gajah-Ayer Keroh on North-South Expressway Southern route

· km along East Coast Expressway

List of flash flood-prone areas

· km of Sungai Besi on Sungai Besi Expressway near Razak Mansion

· km of Seberang Jaya Interchange underpass on Butterworth-Kulim Expressway near Carrefour Seberang Jaya

· km of Alor Star - Jitra of the North-South Expressway Northern Route

· km 15 of Batu Tiga Interchange on Federal Highway

· km of Shah Alam Interchange on New Klang Valley Expressway

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