Japan: Patient Drivers

Since I resumed the contact with PG, I had several occasions to have his escort while going to church or other places together. He was the most careful Malaysian driver I had met. While the traffic light was turning from yellow to red, he would not accelerate to cross the junction. When it was turning green, he would wait the front vehicle to go to a safe distance, then only would he change the gear and press his foot on the accelerator in a slumber manner. Once I asked him, "Have you ever been horned at because of your slowness?" and was surprised to get the answer "So far no."

My question was actually a reflexion of my own driving attitude influenced by my brothers. I always remembered Leong's comment that more vehicles in Taiwan passed in front of the traffic light within the first fifteen seconds than in Malaysia because of the quick reaction of their drivers. And unfortunately, Seng was the most impatient driver I had ever known in person. When we used to travel by car together in the past, I was worried about how much his passengers, especially my parents, could stand the horror. Now when we sat in his car, I just prayed for our safety and relaxed, while Mum sometimes still complained about his recklessness.

On our way to KLIA from Batu Pahat, I was stunned to see the consequence of three lories having lost control at the highway and a car at a round-about. Was it not a proof that our drivers were getting less patient in spite of the better road conditions?

After more than ten days in Japan, I noticed that lanes within a city were generally very narrow. Drivers had very little chance to overtake on a busy road. Even then, I hardly saw any cars rushing. Cars always keep a one-car distance from each other, whether moving on the road or in front of a traffic light. PG's driving would perfectly merge into the scene.

Later, I learned from Ah Yu that in Japan, when a car was knocked from the back, its driver also had to bear a part of the responsibility. Even though the vehicle insurance company would finally take the charge of repaying the damage, the payment of the insurance contract would become higher to the disadvantage of the driver.

We should consider to follow this example in Malaysia. What do you think?