Saturday, December 29, 2007

Halangan

Saya pernah mendapat tiket (bukan tiket bas), kerana memotong sebuah bas yang amat perlahannya di garisan berkembar (double line) seperti di bawah. Kejadian itu berlaku di Pedas, NS, lebih kurang 20 tahun dahulu. Saya tidak menyangka ada Pak Polisi, menunggu saya setengah kilometer di hadapan.

Itu cerita lama, dan sangat jarang berlaku pada masa itu. Pemandu ketika itu mungkin tidak mahu berbelanja lebih untuk membayar saman. (Saya dapat mengelak pada masa itu kerana memberitahu hendak cepat sampai ke Lumut, "unifrom" pun ada tergantung, kapal saya hendak belayar segera).

Kini keadaan telah banyak berubah. Pemandu-pemandu samaada tidak lagi perasaan akan adanya garisan berkembar ini, atau sudah tidak tahu lagi akan fungsinya. Oleh itu, tidak hairanlah kini telah ada halangan-halangan didirikan di atas garisan berkembar tersebut, untuk mengingatkan pemandu.


Halangan-halangan ini, sudah tentunya menimbulkan sedikit kurang selesa kepada pemandu-pemandu yang ingin cepat melintasi garisan berkembar itu, terutamanya mat-mat motor.

Oleh kerana keperluan mereka ini, maka banyaklah, "lubang" seperti di atas dijumpai di celah-celah halangan tersebut.

Jelas kelihatan tanda tidak boleh membuat "U-turn" di sini. Tetapi ianya tidak mendapat perhatian pemandu-pemandu yang melihat/tidak melihatnya.

Sebelum halangan ini di bina, motorsikal dan kereta melalukan libasan maut di sini untuk cepat sampai ke seberang. Apabila halangan2 itu wujud ia berhenti sementara. Kemudian muncullah "lubang" untuk laluan di sana.

Pihak berwajib kemudian berusaha menutup "lubang" tersebut, untuk di"buka" semula beberapa hari kemudiannya.

Ia kemudiannya di tutup sedikit dengan halangan batu seperti ini. Ia agak berat dan tidak mudah di alih atau di patah2kan. Tetapi tidak semua yang di ganti begitu. Dan masih ada lubang yang boleh dibuat.

Walau apapun dilakukan, selagi kesedaran sivik pemandu-pemandu kita masih berada di tahap yang rendah, perkara ini akan terus berlaku. Walaupun mereka beranggapan, mereka yang buat, merekalah yang akan tanggung risikonnya, tetapi, ia juga akan mengundang risiko kepada pemandu lain juga yang jika secara kebetulan berada di laluan bertentangan dengan mereka.

Pandu cermat jiwa selamat, seperti nasihat dari KLFM, ramai orang mahu anda pulang ke Rumah, bukan pulang ke Rahmatullah.

22 comments:

david santos said...

Nice photos, thank you,


I wish you a good end of 2007 and a good year of 2008.

ZABS said...

David: The same to you sir. May you have a Very Happy and Prosperous 2008. And your 2007 has been as successful as you had wished for.

Lee said...

Hi Zabs, ahhh, you got a ticket, huh? How much you paid for the fine?
Those days I got fines for speeding in Tanjong Malim, Bidor, Alor Star, Johore, Bukit Timah, Singapore, KL, even in Trengganu.
The one near Bidor brings smiles to me...it was past 11pm, road practically deserted, I was returning to KL from Penang, and in my Alfa Romeo doing about 90 MPH listening to my cassette music, when taking a long, winding corner, can you imagine right at the apex, centre of road, both sides oil palm estates was this "AWAS, POLIS, BERHENTI" sign!!! HOLY SMOKE!!!
Never expecting to see anything block the road at this time of night, when my car headlights shone on the sign, I had less than 70 yards to stop at that speed.
I practically stood on my brakes, four tires screeching, smoke coming out from the tires, my car's momentum still sliding and skidding towards the 4 mata matas manning the road block...
Zabs, all 4 matas2 practically dived into the bushes as my car skidded sideways, yes..sideways.. towards them and stopped just 10 feet from hitting their sign.
Oh boy, the mata matas, the way they dived into the bushes like as if Chin Peng and his gang had appeared, ha ha.
BUT! there was no speed limit there, they were stoping cars because of an armed robbery somewhere...
I was a nervous wreck when I got out of my car...and of course told the cops, diplomatically of course why put their sign right in the middle of a corner, no warning lights too.
Alamak, fortunately the sergeant had a sense of humour seeing me trembling and shaking from the near miss fright, my car missed going into the ditch too...he laughed, telling me they looking for armed robbers.
You should see them brushing off the grass and lallang from their uniforms! Arhaaa ha ha. They sure got one heck of a fright too, seeing a car slidding sideways at them, ha ha.
Anyway, I shared with them my cigarettes to calm my nerves and theirs too, and they wishing me, "selamat malam, jalan pelahan sikit incik, ada satu lagi roadblock di Tg Malim', I drove off.
Wa, if ada speed limit, I would have got the book thrown at me, ha ha.
Hey Zabs, I love your moustache! You look real cool, man.
You have a nice day, Zabs. Lee.

ZABS said...

Hello Lee,
Thank you for sharing that story. Now you are able to reflect and laugh at that incident, where else you are trembling and shaking from that near miss fright and your car missed going into the ditch, at that instant. I practice safe driving because I just hate to look at blood.
Well, I got lucky that time. In those days,I always have my Naval uniform on hangers in the car, and my cap at the back seat. The excuse is always, I have to catch my ship, going to sea at short notice, have to hurry.
Did you drive that fast, still, there in Toronto?
Good night Lee.

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Pak Zabs
We try hard to get ourselves from being fined for speeding, don't we?
We've gotten away with "Maaf Tuan, saya dah lambat untuk function PM ni" while flashing our press cards. After a while, the traffic police would have heard it countless times. Their response? "Saman, dah tahu lambat kenapa tak keluar awal." No argument there.

ZABS said...

Fauziah: Hanya dua kali sahaja, saya pernah guna excuse itiu. Selain saya pemandu yang tak sudah pecut memecut dan langgar melanggar lampu isyarat, saya ni kedekut sikit, bila nak bayar saman. Duit tu lebih baik diguna pada keperluan yang lebih berfaedah, seperti beli buku sekolah ke?....
Bagi mengelak disaman, seberapa boleh, saya akan memandu ikut peraturan. Peraturan dibuat untuk kebaikan/keselamatan kita juga, kerana tiada siapa yang akan susah bila terjadi kemalangan, kerana kita dan keluarga kita juga yang susah... kan?

Pak Zawi said...

Zabs,
It is easy to pick up speeding tickets nowadays when you are travelling long distances Pasir Mas - Kl for instance or Pasir Mas - Kulai when I was serving in Johor in the 70's. The distance make you want to go faster than the allowable 90 kmh on non highways. Remember there are countless 50 kph, 70 kph in between. if you were to observe these limits to the letter, you will never reach your destinations in aday.
What I can't bear most is to see a 70 kph sign on a deserted straight road as wide as the plus highway in a village. Now do you slow down from the 90 kph just because the speed limit sign say so? Am I in danger of knocking anything other then a wildboar that run 'membabi buta' across my path? I will post some pictures to back up my statement.
This is where we expect the police to use their discretion in setting up a speed trap.
Sometimes they seem to be doing it just for the purpose of collecting fines and not for the sake of road safety.

cakapaje said...

Salam Pak Zabs,

Pedas, sememangnya dahulu tempat yang amat digeruni oleh pemandu pemandu kerana ketelitian polis trafik di sana. Malah, ayah saya juga pernah kena sama juga :)

Pada pandangan saya, kurikulum pembelajaran memandu seharusnya tidak terhad di situ sahaja, malah berkait dengan sistem pembelajaran negara. Kelemahan penerasan ilmu agama, moral dan alam sosial dengan sendirinya menyumbang kepada kelalaian pemandu, termasuklah pemandu kenderaan berat.

Walaupun banyak juga kemalangan berlaku di US, namun ramai pemandu mereka sebenarnya mematuh undang undang dan etika jalanraya termasuklah memberi laluan kepada pejalan kaki di simpang simpang.

Di Thailand pula, diberitakan bahawa bila berlaku kemalangan, kenderaan yang besar secara otomatisnya disalahkan.

Dalam masa yang sama, pemerintah harus memastikan bahawa bahawa undang undang jalanan adalah saksama dan mengambil kira keperluan pengguna. Yang paling penting, keadaan jalan mestilah dalam keadaan yang terjaga dan bukan berlopak sehingga membahayakan pengguna. Maaf, terpanjang pula komen saya (sebenarnya banyak lagi boleh dinyatakan).

ZABS said...

Zawi: When we have a long distance to cover, we always have the tendencies to speed up a "bit", especiaaly when the road is deserted and no possibilities of encountering other motorists there.
As a season motorist, I know you will only speed up when it is only safe to do so. Unless ada benda yang lalu membabi butalah.
Yes, sometimes we have a feeling that the speed limit were design in such a way, to catch people off guard, in these area. Because the police are always the places where at these places, to ambush the motorist. Salam Zawi, but do drive safely.

Mat Salo said...

Pak Zabs,

First of all, I hope it's not too late to wish you Happy Anniversary.

Speaking of fines, I just had a 'saman ekor' come in and my wifey is livid because the car's hers and I was driving at the time. Masa Raya Puasa dulu kena somewhere on the SPDH highway towards PD. That's after returning from Somban, bawak lomang laa dan masak lomak cili api my auntie... That's RM300 down the drain. Apparently it was just 114 kmh in a 90 kmh zone...

The Lomang story was great Pak Zabs, but I sure missed lomang this Raya Haji. Last year was worse. I spent Raya in Balikpapan and not a lomang in sight! How can that be? Apparently Lomang is strictly a 'Sumateran' phenomenon. And Sulawesi too, but not Javanese... Don't know hoe true this is since Java is such a vast island.

Ya lah Pak Zabs, gambar semakin mantap!

Yes, I do think you made an excellent choice retiring early. After all you still got many years of productive life ahead of you, Sir. And those youthful looks! When you told me you were a pensioner you could've have fooled me!

Happy New Year Pak!

Salaam.

ZABS said...

Shah CA: Podeh memang podeh, tapi lama juga sudah tidak ikut jalan itu untuk balik kampong. Satu2nya jalan yang banyak kemalangan pada masa itu, jesteru itu membuatkan pihak polis lebih berhati2 di sana.
Mungkin ada betulnya seperti kata anda itu. Kelemahan penerapan ilmu agama, moral dan alam sosial juga menyumbang kepada perlakuan seseorang individu itu, dalam apa juga tindakan.
Di sini di zebra crossing pun orang takut nak melintas. Mat-mat motor, main cilok je di simpang2 jalan. Di "booth" tol pun, banyak berlaku kemalangan maut. Apa ke halnya?
Di Thailand, walau macamana sesak nya jalan raya, jarang kedengaran hon-hon di bunyikan. Di sini, pemandu kenderaan berat, seperti bas dan lori, jadi raja dan pembuli jalanan.
Jalan raya yang tidak bertol, cuma diturap bila dekat pilihan raya atau bila ada lawatan pembesar sahaja. Jalan bertol pula tak habis2 diperbaiki.
Apa faedahnya bayar tol semahal harga minyak kereta, tapi lorong tiga "lane" cuma satu "lane" yang boleh diguna pada satu2 masa?
Terima kasih Shah kerana pandangan yang baik ini.Salam.

ZABS said...

MS: Thank you for the anniversary wishes. Tidak terlambat, ucapan dari anda memang ditunggu. LOL.
Kelajuan 114/90 that is nearly 30% over the limit tu, dan RM300 tu boleh dapat tiket Air Asia pergi balik Jakarta kot?
Saya kurang arif tentang asal usul lemang ni. Setahu saya, lemang ini boleh dibuat oleh orang Jawa dan Minang. Arwah bapa saya orang Jawa dan arwah emak saya orang minang, mereka berkongsi buat lemang. Bapa cari buluh lemang dan emak isi pulut dan santannya untuk bapa bakar jadi lemang.
Ada tengok gambar-gambar di Photo Blog saya ke?
When I put in my profile as a pensioner, I was telling the truth, but not the whole truthlah.
Kalau dah kerja sendiri, tentu boleh naikkan sendiri umur bersarakan? Tapi biarlah angka genap 65, 70 atau 75. Takdelah 66, 67, 68 atau 69. Salam MS, semoga safety first diamalkan terus.

Lee said...

Hi Zabs, re your enquiry whether I still drive fast now? No way, my friend. I am past 60, reflexes not as fast when younger.
Also I'm driving a Queen Mary now, ha ha, a 18 1/2 feet long Lincoln car.
But our highways allow up to 120KPH, so thats the highest I tekan minyak.
I had a very bad crash near Segamat (1980's) at more than 125MPH when a kereta sapu cut across my path without signalling (I will post the pics next day) and at that speed taking evasive action took an unexpected excursion into an oil palm estate, ending 100 yards inside and stopped by a tree.
That was the day I swore I will not exceed 100mph anymore as already used up 6 of my nine lives, ha ha.
I sold my Alfa Romeo and bought a Mercedes, drive like a gentleman.
But I can tell you, driving on our icy, snowy roads is no joke! The cars do joget, ronggeng and Tango on the roads, hit the brakes too hard, you find your car climbing up a snowbank or have an afair with a lamp post, ha ha.
Nope, I am a slow driver today. My wife says she doesn't look good in black, ha ha. Lee.

Unknown said...

Pak Zabs,
To be frank, I prefer motorcycle than car, but no I am so not the daredevil mat rempit who chin-ups over the speed and nuisances they caused to teh public. I don't do cilok-mencilok membabi-buta, sayang nyawa. Motor kalau tercabut tayar or handle, boleh pegi kedai. But nyawa, mana ada kedai jual! Tak gitu? Dah la barang pinjam aje.
Yes, your pictures are getting nice. What magazine do you digested on? Your D40(D40 right?)must have served you well. It took more than nice camera to snap nice pictures, and you did take nice pictures.

Eddie Putera said...

fuh..semua komen panjang panjang.. saya sebaris jer.. SELAMAT TAHUN BARU bro ZABS..

ZABS said...

Lee: I had an experience driving on an icy road too, but it might not be as icy as in Toronto.
I was in Bangors, Wales, 1996. One morning while driving on this particular stretch of road, which I don't realise was a bit icy. On approaching a corner, I applied the break slowly, and the car just slide slowly to the roadside, not reacting to my steering, for about 10m before I could get it to stop. Luckily, there were no cars parked on the road side at that particular time. And if there were cars there, I don't know whether I can afford to pay for the damages.
From then on extra caution taken when driving on icy road. Thank you Lee. Take care.

ZABS said...

Akmal: Well to tell you the truth, I have never own a motor-cycle. Even my sons, I don't encourage them to own one. May be it was because, my late father died of a motorcycle accident. I always had the feeling it was unsafe to travel with them. However I know there are careful/responsible cyclist like you around. And will take all necessary action for their safety.
Re: D40, yes it is. The photographs are chosen from all the many taken. Being digital and have large memory capacities, I can take as many photos I like and just choose the good one to be downloaded.
Thank you Akmal and take care. Salam.

ZABS said...

Adiejin: Terima kasih kerana sudi menjengok. Kehadiran anda untuk mengucapkan selamat tahun baru itu sudah lebih dari mengembirakan saya. Selamat Menyambut Tahun Baru juga diucapkan kepada anda dan keluarga. Semoga Tahun 2008 akan menjadi lebih berjaya lagi. Salam.

zino said...

sekarang ni ramai yg tak mau patuh dengan undang2.. macam macam benda yg di buat tapi pesalah jalan raya tak pernah berkurangan..

tahap displin pemandu malaysia.. entah jatuh no berapa?

ZABS said...

Zino: Begitu nampaknya. Sekarang semua orang telah terlalu berani. Berapa buat dosa, berani langgar undang-undang, berani buat maksiat dll.
Keberanian yang tidak berfaedah dan menyusahkan diri sendiri dan juga orang lain. Kita sebagai ketua keluarga perlu menerapkan nilai2 yang baik kepada ahli keluarga kita. Ia perlu bermula dari rumah. Jika keluarga baik, masyarakat kanjadi baik, begit juga negara, dan tentu semua akan menjadi baik. Wallahua'lam.

13may said...

hehhe...saya cuma tersenyum ajer baca entri nih :)

ZABS said...

May: Senyum kambing ke senyum sumbing?