Kch-Serian Highway

First Class Road Almost Claim Third Class Driver's Life

While driving the Kuching - Serian highway (Anything that is two lane here we tend to call it highway)I noticed that there was a lorry that was in a peculiar position. It was a headturner, no doubt.

Hullo.... wassup with this lorry

The scene warrants a U-Turn and I noticed those tyre marks on the road which tells a story of its own - the driver of the lorry was avoiding one smaller lorry but collision was unavoidable. Those brake marks were less than 15 metres. The bigger lorry must have apply its emergency brake trying to avoid hitting the other vehicle. By the looks of it I also forsee that its gonna lead to a serious traffic jam in the early morning rush.

The other smaller lorry also seemed to have hit the road sign post.

I do not know how many of us gets the chance to cruise the Kuching - Serian Highway. I can say I have my own experience as one drives this straight stretch which allows one to travel at maximum speed ~ say 160 km per hour. I have seen cars shooting past me at high speed. It seems the drivers here enjoy the benefits of a modern highway. But wait......one needs to really be extra careful as most road users staying along there are quite unpredictable ~ especially those staying along the 50km stretch between Siburan Town and Serian. Probably they want to save a few drops of gas or they have suicidal thoughts, I do not know. About the accident, both drivers were still mad with one another that I did not get the chance to interview them. I was in a rush but by the looks of it, the smaller lorry must have come in from the 'other direction' against the flow traffic when it encountered the larger lorry. The people who stay in the area told me that the smaller lorry concerned 'selalu macam itu, cari jalan sinang'... translated, it means the smaller lorry is no stranger to breaking the traffic rules. Its been lucky all this while but not this time.

Which is why I try my best to be on high alert when travelling the Kuching - Serian strecth. Keep those horn handy as I experienced one driver who came out of a junction in a slow and steady manner, missing me by inches as if he did not see me. Obviously he had one hand on the handphone and the other holding a cigarrete. Other near misses were the sudden appearances of smaller vehicles like motorbikes which tends to shoot out of nowhere as some of the barriers between highway has been brought down by irresponsible people living in the area. They feel it blocks them from crossing over to the other side. Never mind the 'U-Turn' exit made which is just a few hundred metres away. This does not augur well for our journey to become a developed State if our people still maintains this third class mentality. If anyone thinks that they have the answers on how to improve people's attitude on the road and help reduce traffic accidents in Malaysia down to zero, I am sure the authorities will gladly create a special post with high pay. It will be as challenging as the Manager's job for an English Premier League (EPL) club. One life lost means the management will decide on whether to retain you or not. More than one life the management will fire you.