Three car owners who had their cars parked at the IOI City Mall in Sepang District, Selangor, were unfortunate to have their vehicles damaged by a Porsche 911 which crashed into them. The accident occurred early today (Saturday, January 28) at the valet parking lot of the mall.
According to a report by The Star, Sepang OCPD Asst Comm Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof said that investigations showed that the driver had crashed into a road divider and lost control, leading to the Porsche colliding with the three cars at the driveway of IOI City Mall.
Saturday was the last day of 2022 but a tragedy would mark the end of the year at the CCT Battle of Champions race. A spectator was killed when a car went off the track and hit him at the Dato’ Sagor Circuit in Kampung Gajah, Pasir Salak, Perak.
Footage of the incident which circulated on social media showed two cars racing closely with each other and coming into contact. One car got diverted off the track and headed towards a group of people who were standing in an open area just next to the track, and one was injured fatally.
With dashcams now being installed by many motorists, we are seeing a lot of videos of accidents taking place on Malaysian roads. It’s well known that our accident rate is unacceptably high and now we can see reasons why there are some many crashes.
This is one example which is in a video circulating on some Whatsapp groups. It shows a car approaching a cross junction on the left of two lanes. Traffic in this lane should only go straight or turn left (the arrows on the road indicate that); if they want to turn right, they need to be in the right lane. The driver obviously did not think of this or realized he wanted to turn right and without even thinking about the danger of cutting across the other lane to turn, he just did it straight away.
Very unfortunately, a motorcyclist was coming along and at speed, so he could not stop or take evasive action and hit the car. But worse, another motorcyclist also came along and rammed into the rear of the car, the rider being thrown into the air and likely to be injured badly when he hit the ground.
While the motorcyclists might be partly at fault for using the right lane and going straight, the driver is at greater fault for turning right. In fact, he already committed an offence by not following the arrow indications. He should have realized his action was a dangerous one [to others using the right lane] and if he wanted to turn, he should look back and be sure no one was approaching. He obviously did not do that, causing two motorcyclists to be injured.
Source: Whatsapp groups
When we see such accidents, we should learn from the mistakes made so we do not make them as well. In this case, the lesson learnt is that you should always be in the correct lane if you want to turn. If you really must turn from another lane, then you must take maximum care and check for traffic moving along the lane to avoid such an accident. If there is a lot of traffic, it is better to go further down the road and find a way to turn back, which will be safer.
UPDATE: Police have arrested a person believed to be the one in the video.
It looks like a stunt in a movie but this is in real life, and it took place in Kapar, Selangor. For the motorist who must have been shocked, it is very fortunate that he has installed a dashcam in his car which showed exactly what happened – the ‘victim’ jumped against his car smashing the windscreen.
Had there not been the camera, then it would be difficult to prove that this was a deliberate act (unless the guy was trying to commit suicide), which is how this scam works. The guy had pretended to cross the road and can be seen running towards the car. But before the car could hit him and cause real injury, he jumped up to land on the bonnet which would have cushioned the impact. Then he slid off the bonnet and must have been lying on the road pretending to be in pain.
And then came the ‘witnesses’, according to the driver, who would have accused him of causing the accident and not seeing the man crossing the road. They would be hoping that the driver would be in shock and so intimidated that they could demand compensation from him. Of course, in such cases, whatever the circumstances, a police report will be needed and then if there is compensation to be made, it would be either the driver or his insurance company paying at a later time. However, such scammers count on fear and confusion letting them collect the money on the spot.
Fortunately for the motorist, he had the dashcam running and he said that when he wanted to wait for the police to come and he pointed to his dashcam, they ran off! Presumably even the injured guy was able to get up and run away.
The police are aware of the video now circulating on social media, and they are investigating this case under Section 336 of the Penal Code for causing endangerment. They also say that there have been other similar cases in the area. The trick could have had serious consequences too – had the driver tried to avoid the man, he might have crashed into another vehicle or even someone else.
Such a scam is not new and happens in other countries too. There are also cases of cars deliberately ramming into other cars or creating a situation where they can accuse the innocent motorist of having caused the accident.
Invest in a dashcam
So it’s a good idea to have a dashcam in your vehicle these days. Many companies now offer dashcams (even rear ones) installed in the new vehicle and for those who want to buy one, the prices range from RM100 upwards. You don’t have to invest in a very expensive unit but do check the video quality because what is important is to be able to make out the numberplate on other vehicles. It should also be able to record with sufficient clarity at night.
Most motorists won’t need all the features available and have standard features such as automatically or manually locking the specific file right after an accident occurs so that it cannot be tampered with. The time and date are always visible but be sure to set them correctly otherwise a wrong time shown may render the recording invalid as evidence!
Most dashcams install easily with a mount that is attached to the windscreen either with a sucker pad or a strong adhesive sheet. The adhesive sheet is usually a better idea as the suction pad can sometimes deteriorate, especially if it is exposed to heat from sunshine for a long time.
A cable is usually provided with the package and while some units still use the cigarette lighter socket for power, newer ones can use a USB cable which can draw power from a USB port. Depending on the model, some units will switch off automatically when the engine is shut down but some power sockets remain ‘live’ as well so the dashcam may have to be manually switched off.
The police are now looking for the driver of the Toyota CH-R which was shown in recordings to have been involved in a hit-and-run case involving motorcycles in two different locations in Johor. The two video recordings show the collision with a motorcyclist and the Toyota not stopping as it was chases by others nearby.
The matter, which is being investigated by the Iskandar Puteri District Police, is being investigated under Section 42 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 which relates to reckless and dangerous driving. Two reports have been received by the police in connection with the accidents.
According to the police, the first accident occurred at Km16 along the Jalan Johor Bahru – Air Hitam road, while the second occurred at Persiaran Ledang in Iskandar Puteri at 9:30 pm on April 11.
The basic rule of the road is that the user of the bigger vehicle should always care about the smaller vehicle or road-user. So a lorry driver would be expected to understand that his vehicle is much bigger than others and be careful when passing or driving near cars and other road-users. But how would this rule apply when the ‘smaller’ road-user may be the one at fault and an accident occurs?
This is the controversy behind the case of 27-year old Sam Ke Ting, who crashed into a group of cyclists in Johor Bahru in February 2017. She was driving home in the early hours of the morning (around 3 am) and unexpectedly encountered a group of cyclists riding along a hilly and winding road that was also said to not be well lit. Perhaps if it was in the daytime, one could say that the element of surprise would not be so great (encountering cyclists), but it was at a time when most people – especially children – would be asleep at home. These were not a bunch of workers cycling home after a night shift at a factory but children out for fun.
The accident also drew attention to the issue of ‘basikal lajak’ (modified bicycle) which were deemed unsafe and the activities on public roads also reckless and dangerous. In fact, after the accident, there were reports of the police taking action to catch basikal lajak gangs and action was also considered against parents who allowed their children to be involved in such activities. So just as it is an offence to use a car or motorcycle that is modified excessively, it seems that the same would apply to those basikal lajak.
The crash resulted in 8 of the cyclists losing their lives, and Sam was charged with reckless and dangerous driving under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987. In her defence, Sam said that she had not expected such activities to be going on and the road was also dark. She also said that she was not speeding, and this was supported by a study conducted by MIROS (the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety) which reported that she could have been travelling at 44.5 km/h or 75.8 km/h but within the speed limit for that road.
A curious point which was also mentioned was that the authorities believed Sam was not the driver, and there was a suggestion that another person might have been at the wheel. However, there was no evidence presented to support this and the magistrate in the trial could not accept that allegation. There was also no evidence that she was under the influence of alcohol or using her phone.
Based on the defence submissions, the magistrate found Sam to not be guilty and she was acquitted and thought she could put the traumatic episode behind her. However, the prosecution appealed against the judgement and in a second round in October last year, the Johor Bahru Magistrate’s Court upheld its decision as the prosecution had failed to prove their case again and reasonable doubt arose, based on all the evidence presented earlier.
For some reason, the prosecution was still unwilling to accept the judgement even on the second occasion and this time, she was dragged to the High Court after an appeal by the Attorney-General’s Chambers. This time, however, the judge took the view that the magistrate’s court had erred in accepting the arguments presented by the defence which led to her acquittal on both occasions.
The High Court judge, Datuk Abu Bakar Katar, did not agree with the respondent’s defence of being unaware of ‘basikal lajak’ activity during the time of the incident and said that she should have been driving carefully because the area’s lighting was not bright at that time.
Sam has therefore been found guilty and sentenced to 6 months in prison as well as a fine of RM6,000. She is also disqualified from driving for 3 years after she has completed her prison sentence.
There is still a chance to submit an appeal at the Court of Appeal and although Sam’s lawyer’s asked for a stay of execution, the judge rejected this application as they have not received approval from the Court of Appeal.
Motorists should pay attention to this case as the judgements set precedents for future cases of a similar nature. There are those who agree with the guilty finding as well as those who feel that Sam was not reckless and the accident was not her fault. Both sides have their points, but it must be said that the teenagers also bear some responsibility. While they may be the ‘smaller’ road-user, that does not give them the right to ride in a manner that can cause problems for other road-users. Even people crossing the road are required to observe safety protocols and cannot simply expect that cars must stop for them if they suddenly dash across the road.
With an increasing number of cyclists (not just the basikal lajak types) on roads nowadays, there are more risks of accidents. Generally, cyclists are aware of their vulnerability and take sensible safety measures but there are still risks of an accident. Even if there is no loss of life, there will be police to deal with and then a court case (don’t forget lawyer’s fees) which could drag on. So to avoid such situations, it’s best to be alert when driving and when cyclists are ahead, stay as far from them as possible!
UPDATE (22/8/20): The driver of the car with registration number QMN 5338
(as shown in the video) which was driven along the motorcycle lane
by the Federal Highway has surrendered himself to the police tonight.
A while back, we wrote about the case of a car which was seen being driven along a motorcycle lane. The police managed to track down the owner and according to their investigations, he said he had set the Waze GPS navigation system wrongly. Giving him the benefit of doubt, we looked further into the matter to see if it was possible for Waze to give different directions if the vehicle setting was a car and a motorcycle, as we suspected that could have been the case.
There were people who didn’t think it was possible as GPS accuracy is not fine enough to be able to separate a motorcycle lane and the highway. However, when we used two different vehicle settings, the guidance did show differences, with the one for motorcycles being clearly on the motorcycle lane and the one for cars on the highway.
So it is possible that if the Waze app was accidentally set to motorcycle mode, the guidance could have directed towards a motorcycle lane. Of course, the driver should have been aware he was off the highway but it was said that he was an old man and he may really not have been familiar with the roads, so he didn’t realize he was actually on a motorcycle lane.
Recently, there was another case which could have resulted in a head-on collision. Fortunately, the motorcyclist (who happened to have a GoPro camera on him) swerved out of the way but still crashed against the side. The car had suddenly come out of a tunnel and as can be seen in the early part of the video, the motorcycle lane was on the left side of the highway (said to be near MidValley City in Kuala Lumpur).
This would suggest that the car entered the motorcycle lane already going the ‘wrong way’ – in relation to the highway flow – and that cannot be a GPS route guidance error. The system would not have guided the driver in the wrong direction, so it would appear that it was a deliberate action. We hope the police will also be able to track down the driver and charge him as that was certainly a very dangerous situation which could have killed someone.
It has been announced that Red Bull Honda’s WSBK rider, Nicky Hayden has past away. The 35-year-old American succumbed to injuries suffered after an accident while riding his bicycle in Italy last Wednesday.
Hayden was admitted at Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena, Italy after the incident. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries on 22nd May 2017, his fiancee Jackie, mother Rose and brother Tommy were at his side at the time.
Nicky Hayden was a beloved character in bike racing due to his tenacious fighting spirit, professionalism and all around good nature. Since an early age, he dreamed of being a pro rider and in 2006 achieved that dream by being crowned MotoGP World Champion with Honda.
Nicknamed the Kentucky Kid, he was a true champion and a fan favourite due to his kind nature, relaxed demeanor and his signature wide smile. The out-pour of prays and support from fellow racers and his legions of fans are a testament to his character and the impact he had on the racing world.
Speaking of this, Tommy Hayden, Nicky’s brother said, “On behalf of the whole Hayden family and Nicky’s fiancée Jackie I would like to thank everyone for their messages of support – it has been a great comfort to us all knowing that Nicky has touched so many people’s lives in such a positive way. Although this is obviously a sad time, we would like everyone to remember Nicky at his happiest – riding a motorcycle. Apart from these ‘public’ memories, we will also have many great and happy memories of Nicky at home in Kentucky, in the heart of the family. We will all miss him terribly.”
Today, the racing world has lost one of its best talents, rest in peace Nicky Hayden.
