Posted on by Kit

North-south highway 3rd lanes

Letters
by J.Y.

I am a frequent user of our North-South Expressway and I have this
IMPORTANT experience to highlight and share:-

I was driving back to Penang yesterday afternoon (24 June 08) when I saw
the unfortunate accident in the opposite direction involving the passenger
bus that skidded and overturned at Tanjung Malim. I didn’t know that the
skidded bus was from hometown Penang untill I watched TV3 news later in the
evening and was shocked to learn that the accident took two lives.

Now, this is what I need to share:-

I am a building contractor with over twenty years of experience and I have
been driving my 5 series BMW (latest generation and a dammed solid road
holding car) each time I travelled to KL. Lately, the new extended 3 lanes
highway had been opened up for use and since then, I have also been using
it quite oftenly.

HOWEVER, when I used it each time it is WET, I can really ‘feel’ that the new road surface is extremely SLIPPERY! To share with some of you, my car comes with a built-in traction control mechanism (skidding prevention mechanism) and you can feel it each time it is activated. Previously, I don’t come across this kind of slippery feel except when I drive over a
paddle of water at certain speed.

From my observation as a building contractor, the ‘wearing course’ of the new road surface could be TOO FINE OR TOO SMOOTH and TOTALLY UNSUITABLE for highway use!

The wearing course (top premix layer) mix design for highways should be of minimum 20mm coarse aggregate mix that will give us the required bond between the surface and our tyres. Fine wearing course (14mm coarse aggregate size and below) is only suitable for normal road. (A proper test need to be carried out to determine the mix design of the wearing course).

Since the opening of the three lanes highway, I had seen cars skidding in front me or in the opposite direction and approximately 2 weeks ago, one of my friends who is also a frequent user of our NSE, came to share with me about his slippery feeling as well as the many skidded cars he had seen lately.

I am highlighting this to TV3 and The Star with the hope that a thorough investigation could be carried out immediately to find out how or what causes the bus to skid. A proper and independent test need to be carried out urgently to determine the design mix of the wearing course. THIS CAN SAVE LIVES.

86 Replies to “North-south highway 3rd lanes”

  4. How nice if we can have 900 km of 3 lanes highway (all the 900km) tol free like what our neighbour (Thailand) have.
    Not like here , we hv to pay for 3rd class, dangerous highway. Anyways ,thanks JY and LKS for this vital info.

  6. “”I am highlighting this to TV3 and The Star with the hope that a thorough investigation could be carried out immediately to find out how or what causes the bus to skid. A proper and independent test need to be carried out urgently to determine the design mix of the wearing course. THIS CAN SAVE LIVES.””

    Is this the statement the contractor is waiting for? It seems this has been the modus operandi for a bona fide extra contracts. Everywhere – building, bridges, roads and then consultants called, extra tender issued and everything above-board what? There is no corruption what? Everything legal what?….

  7. In my area, one stretch of road was damaged within a week of being constructed. After numerous repairs, they finally came up with a solution by putting sign boards reading “AWAS – JALAN DIHADAPAN TIDAK RATA”.
    Most probably some smart aleck from PLUS will come out with some equally smart signage and considered that problem solved too!

  9. The first thing the Pakatan must do is expose all Contracts and how it is awarded and how these contracts given out by negotiation. These contractors just put any price and our BN Govt just blindly give in. Something is very wrong.

    See the Penang 2nd Bridge issue. The contract should be awarded by open contract. We are sure it would be far cheaper. BN Govt just gave the project to UEM and China Harbour. Now this people say cost is higher.

    What is the basis? How do we know they haven’t markup a billion ringgit? How do we know the quotation was not already inflated? Accountants must go thru their quotation in details… UEM could be taking Malaysians for a ride…

    Even PLUS. they must have inflated their costing. Otherwise, like Penang Bridge, it is now taking maximum capacity, but still not making money? Need increases ? Need financial feeding from the Govt in expense of the general public? This is gross failure of the Govt, the MOF and Works. They are all a party to these cheatings.

    Pakatan experts…plse expose them. review all contracts..

  10. Another case of corruption..As far as JKR is concern, As long as the contractor follows the speck. There won,t be any problem. To earn extra profit .Contractors will use sup-standered materials.

  11. I drive C200 and I’m a frequent user of NS highways between Ipoh and Taiping. Many would have noticed that road repairs are taking place through out the year this area. Everytime I drive on a new road, I use to feel the slippery sensation. I thought may be I’m too sensitive. Now I know why. I used to see lots of skidding of vehicles esp duirng a rainy day ( not necessary heavy rain). Its high time the PLUS to look into this defect before to avoid future accidents.

  12. I thought this only happen in Sabah where 50% of the funds for construction a road are corrupted, road built will need maintenance after 3 months after used. As economy worsen in West Malaysia more and more corruption on this kind of construction will be revealed.

  13. perhaps one needs to take a sample of those road and see the mixture of TAR……could this SCUMS have added used discarded engine oil??….after all TAR is also not that cheap these days….over a few kilometres that a few million dollars savings….

    Who has the money resources to do such research…..we are in the midst of defending whatever Justice and law and Order is left in malaysia which is slipping faster than anything. It seems these Racist Bigots thinks swearing under Koran is more credible than the High Courts and Proper judicial systems. …over my DEAD Body!!

    Remember when the times comes its Insurance, Territory then discuss…….life is too short to allow SCUMS a 2nd chance for Racism!!

  14. Dont’ blame the contrators, the builders etc. blame the engineers. Are we having half baked professionals or corrupted ones who conspire to make more money by “throwing nails on the road” to get another variation orders?

  15. HOWEVER, when I used it each time it is WET, I can really ‘feel’ that the new road surface is extremely SLIPPERY! To share with some of you, my car comes with a built-in traction control mechanism (skidding prevention mechanism) and you can feel it each time it is activated :JY

    Dear JY, Can you please give us a rough indication speed range when the built in traction control kicks in? It will certainly save a lot of us .

  16. J.Y,
    in this country,it is a matter of who u know n how much is in ur tube to offer;definitely it is not what u know n how much u know!pathetic,isn’t it??
    vision 2020,it is jus a bunch of propaganda ‘bull’,isn’t it??

  17. Thank you, JY, for highlighting the issue here.

    We sincerely hope that the issue mentioned here is looked into immediately by qualified people. Should the problem exist, warning must be given to all users immediately and the problem must then be rectified ASAP before more unfortunate individuals get hurt or lose their lives.

  18. badak,besides the issue of ‘following the specifications’,in malaysia currently;one must also think about n look at who write the spec,how the spec. is being written n why the spec. is written in a certain specific manner!!grafts n foul plays which pertaining to the word corruption hav infact become a norm in this nation,pat n parcel of our life!!
    jus wonder how pakatan is looking at these sort of stuffs n ways for rectification.

  19. do u think ‘open contract’ pocedure would be the panacea to stop all the hanky pankies??many of the GLCs n agencies like felda,felcra..etc etc are practising the so called ‘openess’ in certain aspects;’take a deep look n track’ on ‘the project in-charge,manager,engineer’s ‘trails’ on how they actually work on their ‘books’……what hav been n are happening then????

  20. I agree with you JY. I am a medical practitioner ( not an engineer )> My car has anti-slip devices too, and I find that the NSE inside lane ( 3rd lane ) is not the same feel as the other lanes. I also have the same feeling on the new ELITE HWY.
    What can we do?. I suspect that the road builders are cutting corners for profit. How can we get the AB government to check the HWYs?

  21. Hey, for all we know, those signboard marked with “AWAS! KAWASAN ANGIN LINTANG! KURANGKAN LAJU” is a conspired warning signs by PLUS.

    Just my speculations: It could have been due to the construction “shorcuts” PLUS took during development, and they used “natural elements” to cover up for their “human shortcomings (read: greed)”.

  23. It seems that the highway builder was unqualified for the job. Inevitably some people will think he is somebody’s crony although he might not be. It is important that the government awards contracts to builders with TRANSPARENCY so that the rakyat cannot put the blame on the government if something goes wrong with the completed project.

  24. We are talking about a tolled highway.
    Been about 2 weeks since JY highlighted the issue but I have not read of any PLUS response to the concerns brought up.
    Ah! yes I forgot PLUS is a law unto itself.
    What are the lives and limbs of the highway users as long as their coffers are filled!!

  25. To have accountability, we must have first have a judiciary system that’s fair and independent.

    Otherwise, whatever faults we can find, it’s impossible to take action against.

    We have a long way to go to become a “developed” nation. The rakyats are ready, but I’m afraid our politicians are not…

  27. thanks Uncle Kit for the article, I will drive carefully when its raining, also hopefully somebody from PLUS is reading this and take corrective action. If not, they already know, and if lives are forsaken, they will ultimately be judged by their respective God(s) in the hereafter….

  28. Perfect crimes, what? Profit from corruption by providing sub-sub-standard highway and killing the innocents who ride in local cars. In this way the lives of the rich are preserved so that they can contribute more to the corrupt. This only the bodohwi can come out with!

  30. “Don’t blame the contrators, the builders etc. blame the engineers. Are we having half baked professionals or …..”
    To be fair, don’t blame contractor or engineer, blame the paymaster, i.e. the owner, or developer, in this case PLUS,
    am in construction line, very often, contractors n engineers are forced by owners or developers to cut cost / time / quality.
    sorry to say in msia, very often, owner no respect engineer or contractor, unlike oversea. In msia, is chinese saying “got money big to the end”

  32. No , No , No.

    Listen to me. I am a frequent North South highway users.

    I don’t agree with JY’s comment on this issue in 100%.

    I am using wet tyres on one of my imported car. I am used to drive more than 130km/hour whenever I go outstation . When come to raining time, I will slow down to below 100km/hour.

    Do you know what I noticed every time I travel from KL to Penang / Ipoh/ Alor Star.

    The speed of the cars using the highway!!!

    Kancil overtakes me.

    Kenari also overtakes me.

    All buses, overtake me one by one. Except trailer / lorries.

    Just imagine, I am travelling 130km/hour, how fast they are driving.

    Sometime, I just try to overtake them by speeding up . Some kancil can speed up to more than 150km/hour. I don’t know what petrol they are using!!! Can run soooo fast.

    Raining time, also the same. I am using wet tyres. I don’t know what tyres they are using. I just shake my head. Can they really control their cars, if anything suddently come out.

    I would say, our road is safe , if we follow the speed not up to 120km/hour with good tyre tread, of course.

    Please , please dont drive too fast. Please value our life. Please don’t just complain about the road.

    Skidding of buses, I would say, 99% due to overspeed and sleepy drivers. If you don’t believe, please try to drive 120km/hr, see by yourself, which bus not overtake you.

    I pay you RM100.00

  33. MaluLand, BolehLand… It all boils down to corruption corruption corruption. All the fat and dirty officers sitting in the government agencies giving contracts. Cannot blame the engineers and contractors totally lah. They are businessmen. They need to make money and survive. That’s what businesses are for.

    In Sabah’s context and I’m sure it is the same in the Peninsula also, to get one contract or get approval for a project, the contractor/developer must feed(suap) at least 10 mouths. That shrinks their profit margin. So the contractors have to resort to using substandard materials or cut corners here and there.

    I went to a friend’s condominium (in Sabah) and I couldn’t help but make comparison between his condominium and my Housing Development Board(HDB) flat in Singapore. If you’re not familiar with HDB flats, they are suppose to be cheap flats for the “common middle income” folks in Singapore, poor man’s flat. My HDB flat looks like a hotel suite compare to my friend’s condominium. The materials used for the kitchen tiles, bathroom tiles, toilet bowls, sinks are substandard compared to those provided for by HDB. Some of them are made of plastics!! And the guy paid more than what I’ve paid for my lowly flat(of course, you cannot compare a dollar to a dollar). I bought my flat at SGD260K. He paid more than MYR300K for his condo and the condo doesn’t even have a swimming pool??

    I truly believe that Malaysians are capable. They are as good as their counterpart in Singapore. In fact, Malaysia produce a lot of intelligent people. I know a specialist who is number 2 man in KK Hospital and he is a chinese Malaysian.

    PR must wipe out corruption. Corruption is affecting the quality of our “products”. PR must implement system of meritocracy ( I might be crucified for saying this but I know our current system breeds complacency and substandard service. So until someone come up with better system, my vote is on meritocracy). Give the job to the man/woman with the right expertise and experience. The rest will work it out itself. The “competition” will have a positive by-product. People then would actually strive to be excellent and actually study.

    Do you know that in Sabah, we have secondary school english teachers who speak bloody lousy english? And these people have degrees? How did they pass? And they are mostly bumiputras/malays. I’m digressing but PR would have a tough job ahead. Heads up PR and be prepared to clean the shit created by BN/UMNO.

  34. Made some checks in the web and found this information.
    If the road is coated with Asphalt then it will be shinny when new and oil will ooze to the surface. Therefore it will be slippery when new.
    If cheap soft tar is used it will be even more slippery in the texture than Asphalt. It will be worse when it rains.
    Anyone engineers out there that know the material composition of our roads?

  35. >aawilliam Says:

    >Today at 16: 33.45 (6 hours ago)

    >Then PLUS should put up signs to warn users…….urgently

    it should read:

    Then PLUS should put up signs to warn users AND PLUS REPAIR THE FAULTY LANES …….urgently

  36. I can personally testify to the slipperiness of the NS Expressway when it rains. I drive the Ipoh-KL route twice a month and there was once when I nearly lost control of the car a few times, especially between Bkt. Beruntung and Tanjung Malim (driving 60km/h!)
    I thought the tayar botak already, but turns out it was fine.

    Those users of the road reading this, it’s real, so when it rains, be careful and always remember to get a good grip on the steering in case it slipped.

  37. Subject: Fw: North-south highway 3rd lanes
    From: Noorazira Bt Ahmad (DD/PCSB)

    Dear TV3 and The Star,

    I am a frequent user of our North-South Expressway and I have this IMPORTANT experience to highlight and share:-

    I was driving back to Penang yesterday afternoon (24 June 08) when I saw the unfortunate accident in the opposite direction involving the passenger bus that skidded and overturned at Tanjung Malim. I didn’t know that the skidded bus was from hometown Penang untill I watched TV3 news later in the evening and was shocked to learn that the accid took two lives.

    Now, this is what I need to share:-
    I am a building contractor with over twenty years of experience and I have been driving my 5 series BMW (latest generation and a dammed solid road holding car) each time I travelled to KL. Lately, the new extended 3 lanes highway had been opened up for use and since then, I have also been using it quite oftenly.

    HOWEVER, when I used it each time it is WET, I can really ‘feel’ that the new road surface is extremely SLIPPERY! To share with some of you,my car comes with a built-in traction control mechanism (skidding prevention mechanism) and you can feel it each time it is activated. Previously,
    I don’t come across this kind of slippery feel except when I drive
    over a paddle of water at certain speed.

    From my observation as a building contractor, the ‘wearing course’ of the new road surface could be TOO FINE OR TOO SMOOTH and TOTALLY UNSUITABLE for highway use!
    The wearing course (top premix layer) mix design for highways should be of minimum 20mm coarse aggregate mix that will give us the required bond between the surface and our tyres. Fine wearing course (14mm coarse aggregate size and below) is only suitable for normal road. (A proper test need to be carried out to determine the mix design of the wearing course).

    Since the opening of the three lanes highway, I had seen cars skidding in front me or in the opposite direction and approximately 2 weeks ago, one of my friends who is also a frequent user of our NSE, came to share with me about his slippery feeling as well as the many skidded cars he had seen lately.

    I am highlighting this to TV3 and The Star with the hope that a
    thourough investigation could be carried out immediately to find out how or what causes the bus to skid. A proper and independent test need to be carried out urgently to determine the design mix of the wearing
    course. THIS CAN SAVE LIVES.

    FOR THOSE BCC RECIPIENTS, PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS.
    IF YOU ARE USING THE NEW LANES AND IF IT IS WET, MAKE SURE YOU DRIVE
    SLOWLY!!!!

  39. Money mismanagement. All the money paid for such low quality. Imagine if the highways are of such low quality, what about roads of other places ? No professionals to make sure the less important roads are constructed properly. The job is done by cheap labour with no knowledge and no skill. That is how our money is spent. What should be spent is not spent. What shouldn’t be spent is spent. Then, it is very stupid talking about perbelanjaan berhemah. There is no perbelanjaan berhemah if the bosses handling the finances do not even know what is actually going on. Stupid bosses !

  41. The railway over the bridge of River Kwai was known as the Railway of Death. Please do not make the North South Highway the Highway of Death. The Transport Ministry should take action, soon.

  43. Has anyone here really understood the issue? The question is, should someone be driving fast when the road is wet (irrespective of what car you are driving). If the road is wet, common sense (maybe not so common after all) dictates that we should slow down. Driving fast on wet roads will of course make your car feel slippery.

    Don’t be too fast to blame the road conditions.

  45. I definitely do not agree with anyone who shoots from his belt that “SPEED KILLS”.

    Many causes include the road construction, furnitures, the excessive heavy advertisement over the highways (raring to fall down by Murphy’s Law and rusting due to usual poor maintenance attitude), ponding, road curvature which does not allow one to see further in the distance, confusing signboards only apprenhensible and familiarized by locals (a family safe the driver who got out of the car to check for directions at a branch off ramp was annihilated by lorry ), etc, etc.

    Only the wrong speed kills. The hogger in the fast lane. He causes vehicles to slow down and overtake him on his left. The old car which could not go above 80 kph on the 110 kph highway. He causes lorries to overtake into the middle lane in the path of fast vehicles. Lorries and buses overtaking other heavy vehicles

    The north south highway with two lanes each way is inadequate for the traffic load and should have been upgraded to minimum three lanes long ago. The present widening is a safety risk for travellers. Has the government made the operator reduce the toll for such stretches where work is carried out. Also the heavy vehicles after the day’s work should not be parked so close to highway and in the dark at night without warning lights. It is better the vehicles be taken to various highway store yards.

  46. imranj78 wrote:

    “Has anyone here really understood the issue? The question is, should someone be driving fast when the road is wet (irrespective of what car you are driving). If the road is wet, common sense (maybe not so common after all) dictates that we should slow down. Driving fast on wet roads will of course make your car feel slippery.

    Don’t be too fast to blame the road conditions.”

    Yes, one must concede the merit of your argument. However, the contention here is, has the road been built according to specs? The writer of the letter obviously know what he/she is talking about. The writer, being privy in the construction business, simply point out that according to his/her knowledge and experience, he/she suspect that the road may not have been built properly.

    The bone of contention here is, has the rakyat been shortchanged with substandard product? To simply brush it off by saying that if the road is slippery, then you shouldn’t speed is only half right. Are Malaysians expected to just accept shoddy products and services lying down? Are we so gullible and docile? Then we might as well say, if you think the road is dangerous and substandard, then don’t use the road! Or, if you think the government is corrupted, then you should just leave and migrate out of Malaysia!

    On a separate note but somewhat relevant to my point is, about few weeks ago I read in the paper about a minister who suggested that the rakyat get a second job to supplement their income so as to offset the hardship caused by the recent hike in fuel price. Problem is, some people can’t even get a job in the first place, let alone get a second job??!!!

    The government being elected by the people to take care the welfare of the rakyat has the responsibility to provide (YES, to provide) all the basic and the best facility within it’s wherewithal to the rakyat. For argument sake, I would put it this way. If you going to spend 100 million of the rakyat’s money to build a road. Then you should give us a road worth 100 million. Not a road worth 50 million.

    One may argue that the folks in this forum is fast to jump to conclusion when there is no confirmation that there is actually something wrong with the road albeit that the writer of the letter has pointed out that according to his/her experience and expertise,he/she suspect that there is something wrong with the road. The reason why we are all so fast to make a judgment is because we are fed up with corruption and inefficiency. Most of us, including myself personally, has one time or another experience and witnessed to corrupt practice.

  47. Corruption are driving prices UP and quality down = Inflation will rise. It is a know fact to all Malaysians. But how many of us really care. Just take a look at the Dr.M Blog and read the comments. The amount of idiotic comments in his blog makes me sad. Sad that most Malaysian haven’t grown up at all. There was 1 comment advising DR.M not to reveal too much less the current gov. reveals Dr.M’s wrong doing. Still got idiots like this in Malaysia.
    As long the Malaysians are divided by race and religion, there will always be parasite to take advantage of this.

  48. If you look at the repair work to resurface a trench that is dug across a road, you will notice that the repair work will leave a ridge across the road. The engineer expects the vehicles to level the patch work for them. What an engineering feast is this? Wonder which Malaysian university awards the degrees to this “engineer”?

    With these degrees around, what sort of road quality can Malaysia achieve?

  49. This is important information to the government…..but why be surprised.
    They have been mismanaging the country so long.
    Just look a people die in floods!!
    And our so call smart tunnel in K.Lumpur….is it working perfectly now?
    When not so…will blame plastic bottles thrown into rivers.
    Are they not done so for decades?
    Yes..my whole family and I nearly died..taking a corner at a highway…..coming back from Kuantan…with a pile of sand…obviously ..to patch up something on the road..still lying there..mixed up with black oil!!
    Luckily my car was fixed with 4 brand new tires…..and the extra grip gave me the advantage to steer the car .away…plunging into deep forest.
    I have nights of nightmares..and thank the one above..saving my family’s lives.

  50. Here is a weird idea for a free and quick fix on the 3rd lanes:

    The authorities allow heavy and overweight vehicles to use the 3rd lanes for a month or two until the road surface is roughened and safe for light vehicles.

  51. yhsiew,tis will cause danger to other road users,i suggest put on another layer of rough tar as the specs mentioned by jy,and sliding toward the left to enable water to flow faster to the drain.

    guys,meanwhile,you must change your tyres if the thickness is less than 3mm!dun trust the road too much!

    when it is raining,do not exceed 80 km speed,you be saved!

  52. Opp. needs to put forward a new de facto leader as a credible PM for PR.

    Cant comment on DSAI’s sodomy cases, but the fact is being ex-UMNO/DPM, there is too much against him, more will be hurled at him & some rakyat still have doubts about DSAI, all of which will be a drag to PR as a whole. Notwithstanding that, DSAI is equally important for PR to win, but he is better of playing kingmaker/strategist than PM to be, for the sake of PR, for the sake of rakyat.

  53. Are Malaysians expected to just accept shoddy products and services lying down? – Myint3

    Myint3, where else in the world but Bolehland do the residents have to fight the government, especially the local councils, tooth and nail to get what is rightfully theirs?
    Where else do you find local councils hiding behind regulations that prevent their prosecution for causing disasters due to their misdeeds?
    After fifty years of free fall into the abyss, we need to change the government fast, very, very fast!
    Life isn’t that long and we have no more time to listen to their shit!

  54. Roads too slippery because of fine wearing course. Yes definately. Traction control can do little when wheels go into a free spin.

    In construction (building works as well as roadworks) terminology, coarse aggregates are not the same as fine aggregates. The former refers to “stones” and the latter are actually “sands”. Coarse aggregates are graded by their size which is measured (roughly) along its diameter. In reality no such measurements are ever made. Instead they are selected by a simple sieving process using sieves of the appropriate sieve sizes.

    Larger diamater coarse aggregates are preferred for roadworks and they must be crushed as well for their angular properties to be maximised. And the aggregates must be clean of vegetations and fine materials like sand and silt etc before they are mixed and laid.

    Larger diameter coarse aggregates makes hardier roads too and they are better for heavy vehicular use. All road users must have noticed a common sight where a road surface seems to just fold up into a little raised crumple in the middle of the road. Small diameter coarse aggregates tend to ride over each other more easily when they come under the forward push force which is exerted by breaking tyres. The heavier the vehicle the greater the force.

    Anyone who is planning a trip to UK, do remember to pay some attention to the motorway surface there. Of course, we must be mindful that road construction techniques adopted there cannot be applied wholesale here in malaysia because of difference in weather condition.

    Let get back to the issue. But why use small diameter coarse aggregates? They are generally easier to work with. That is a fact. That would mean a faster job too.

    Does it translate into lower costs? Less aggregates would be needed if one uses larger diameter aggregates when compared with smaller diameter ones. Aggregates are sold by weight. But it is usual for sale of aggregates to be transacted on the basis of truck loads i.e. one lorry load = $x.

    So really there is not much cost advantage for one to use small diameter coarse aggregates because one would need more of them.

    So it must be the time factor. To finish the job quickly so that more travellers would use the roads. That would mean more toll collections.

  55. There are few factors contribute to this kind of effect :
    1) Materials used in road building
    2) Speed
    3) Handling
    4) Knowledge
    5) Awareness

    One way to identified what is ahead in raining situation is that beware of shinny roads. Once you see the road with shinny conditions, there are 2 possibilities.
    First, it is fill with stagnant water. This condition will be very dangerous to proceed with high speed, any 70KPH above will send the vehicle skid off effects. The lighter the vehicle, the more easily it will suffer. Likewise, heavy vehicle are less likely but once it reach the skid off effects, the chances of counter controlling is slim or sometimes impossible.
    Secondly, like what JY has mentioned, the road was build with unsuitable materials where it is too fine for highway usage. Such situation will mostly send the vehicle with over steer & under steer effects, both will be very lethal in highways. We are not trained to drive with such over & under steer conditions, With traction control, it helps but 95% of the vehicles in malaysia do not fit with this function.
    Therefore, the best alternative is to look ahead of the road and identify it weather it is in “shinny condition”.
    Speed control is the far most of all accidental avoidance. Knowing when to slow down & speed up will definately save lives. Driving high speed in rainny conditions are no doubt seeking troubles, where as driving too slow in such high speed carriage will be no angels neither. This will cause trouble too, as others will tend to over take and likely to add up up accidental possibilities.
    Being aware all the time do really save everybody from troubles, espeacially in long distance driving, our alertness will reduce with time. Therefore, having short breaks rather than one long shot to reach destination is advisable. After all we are human being, we cannot concerntrate for a very long period. Always adjust your seats to the distance fits to your level. Many motorist tend to seat too near towards the steering wheel, making an 90 deg or less with your arm. This will cause you incapability to steer efficently when in time of counter steer is needed. Sitting too far away with leaning backwards excessively will cause visual incapability thus it will be health hazard. Such manner will cause you spinal problems in times to come & moreover your kidneys will be hurt without you knowing it.

  56. /// myint3 Says:
    Yesterday at 22: 33.53
    I truly believe that Malaysians are capable. They are as good as their counterpart in Singapore. ///

    Yes. More than that – the counterparts in Singapore are probably Malaysians. Just that they are not wanted or appreciated in their own country and have to seek a living in Singapore. Some have even become Singaporeans.

  58. Don’t suffer the illusion of being able to sue PLUS. It is a Khazanah company. Furthermore, before it was nationalised and put under Khazanah, it was part of the Renong Group, and guess who was the lawyer acting for Renong then ? None other than the current President of the Court of Appeals.

    This is Bolehland. We have to depend on “alignment of interests” i.e. as long as our interests are the same as the ruling BN, then all will be fine. As long as UMNOputras use the highway, they will ensure that complaints are taken care of, and not swept under the carpet.

  59. JY thanks for the update on the N-S expressway condition and the state of the art BMW that you are using. The info update was very useful and I will certainly drive at 80kmh or below when in the wet on the expressway. But to ask the present government to be held responsible and do an indepth study on the material that was used in the road construction ? ?? Fat hope .

    We will hve to wait for some Ministers’ car to skid and crash on the NS Expressway first. Then you will see immediate action being taken. Otherwise, please wait.

  60. I’ve heard this issue before, actually its not entirely about money, its more about comfort. having a more course surface will make more tyre noise, although it will have more grip. I heard that some Malaysians complain of the tyre noise due to the more rough highway surface, thats why PLUS opt for a more fine surface on the highway… so according to this theory, PLUS or the menteri’s for that matter, are not entirely to blame here

  62. I don’t agree with this guy while I sympathised with what happened to the bus. This contractor will be issued with all the speeding summons from today. Driving a bigger car does not give the right to drive faster or expect others to give way. Nor should the highway be made to accomodate big & fast cars – when driving safely should be the main issue. Maybe he didn’t change his tyres? The PDRM will be going after him today. I have also seen BMW 740 spun on the N-S hway & it was going well over 200km/hr from the look of it. It was like gone in 1 sec after overtaking me. About 1km away, it was already destroyed, both ends of the car gone, 2 other innocent car were victims of this reckless driver…it started to rain so I went to the nearest toll phone to call in the emergency. Whether the road is suitable or not suitable, the steering wheel is in our hands.

    The other matter that should be pursued is toll truck operators sabotaging the highways with oil. Ever noticed how fast they appear when there is an accident? It’s like they just drop from the sky, & not just one but few.

  64. This definetly require investigation but there is another thing Malaysia’s drivers need to be aware off. Do not drive like a maniac and respect the rules and regulation when driving. If the PDRM decide to give out summons for tail gating I bet they can make a killing. No wonder traffic accident is the highest killer in Malaysia. The last time I went home I feel like if I have a gun in my hand I would have shot about 60 % of te drivers for being rude and driving dangerously.

  65. All the problems we see today, from tolled roads, IPPs, APs, to supply shortage and inflation are due to one thing – the deeply entrenched rent seeking culture and cronyism that the government has inculcated over the years since Mahathir. Malaysia will NEVER change unless we get rid of this culture. Right now, I do not see the will or the urgency to change among the ruling elites. They are governing in total ignorance and oblivion of what is going on. They have no skill, no knowledge, no expertise and no discernment. They only have greed and politicking. This country has been lucky so far. We were never in good hands. Don’t ever attribute the little economic progress we achieved to Mahathir again. That will be the most moronic thing to do.

  66. Sorry, a little digression. Did you guys watch the live dewan telecast this morning on tv1. If you had, you would have notice what Kinabatangan MP did – an unpleasant vulgar hand sign!

  68. Sdr Lim, why are you remaining silent on the massive cancellation of federal projects and allocations to Penang? Does the money in the Treasury belong to BN? It is time to take off the glove on those who systematically undermine Penang. Demand from the federal government how much of the federal tax revenue had come from Penang. This bloody racist politics must stop.

  69. It could be just the writer’s “perception” of the feeling, it may not be the “truth”, and people treat the perception and the truth as the one and the same as said by our PM Abdullah.

    So is there any proof of any wrong doing? What then is the issue?

  70. Want to know why corruption is so high in Malaysia.From 2000 to 2006, more 70,000 corruption cases was reported to ACA.Less then 7000 cases was investicated .Only 582 people was convicted in a court of law.
    With this kind of figures given.If a chance even the gardener in PM office will be corrupted.That is why we are 43rd spot at the CPI.If we look at the figures. Only 1 person a year was convicted. I won,t blame anyone who things that even ACA officers are corrupted.

  71. On NS highway everyone mentioning only slippery. I feel that newly surface 3rd line is uneven when u go 100km/h and slippery. The workmanship is poor. Its contributes to road accident which is dangerous to road user. I hopefully Plus does not leave current state of road to user usage.

  72. No lah according to Kinabatangan MP, from what I see in RPK news posted, he was doing the butterfly sign to the opposition. Must have learnt it from Barney – The Purple Dinosaur CDs. Anyway, that’s how the ruling gov treat us all rakyat, like kindergarten kids.

    Everytime there is a major project, a huge signboard will state “Satu Lagi Projek Kerajaan BN”…it should be “Satu Lagi Projek Untuk Rakyat, DiBayar Oleh Rakyat Tanpa Apa-apa Komisyen Kepada BN Dan Krony-krony BN”. As if, the money used for the job came from their own deep pockets. Only the animals in the zoo will believe it.

    Even if borrowed $, this would have been marked-up grossly for their own takings or small part go to political party. In the end, we the Rakyat, are the ones having to bear for it…& probably for a few generations.

    Come to think of it, how much longer do WE have to pay for the financing of the Penang Bridge? It’s coming to 20 years now.

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  76. Highway Authority Malaysia had given a written reply in the Star newspaper on 8/7/08 in the letter to the editor section of the paper.

    There is nothing wrong with the design and the construction of the 3rd lane and according to HAM stringent tests had been conducted on the finished lane and closely supervised during construction.

    So the perception of the BMW driver remained as his perception and his ‘feel’ only. Can’t really prove anything even with the BMW car.

  77. The issue in contention here is not about the certainty on short-changing of work specification, but the worrisome on the “consciousness of knowledge” on the suitability of the design mix specification of the wearing course. Such fear can only be alleviated after the required tests are carefully conducted and the results “appropriately” revealed.

  79. I had a very bad experience using the highway. Thanks to Samy Valu for leaving behind so many semi value assets to the people. As a businessman, we have to suffer from the high charges and at the end we risk the life of our family and friends. What a disgrace for Malaysia!

    Kerry
    lingerie wholesaler

  80. Highway tested and OKed following standards.
    Very well said.
    In engineering, there are differing standards for things depending on the use to which they are put.
    So passing a test, as in satisfying the requirements of a certain standard, can be deceiving and outright meaningless.
    And it will remain so matter how strict the supervision was during construction and how thorough the subsequent tests were.

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  84. I have always wanted to voice my observations in PJ on the Tarmac on our PJ road resurfacing.
    Now you have hit the nail on the head with this message above.
    Over the years, due to corruptions, Malaysians have suffered. Now lives are in danger.
    Contractors have been cheating on the materials used for resurfacing. When rubber price was high in the last 2-3 years, butimen which used lots of rubber were adulterated.
    What we get although looked nice and new are in fact just Blackened SAND. This made the roads dangerous with sand and is slippery.
    Within a week after resurfacing and having the garbage lorry dripping on the re-surfaced road, one can see that groves along the road where the leaks from garbage lorry leaved on the road. This means the materials used is incorrect.
    Who check and pay these bad / dangerous jobs??
    Maybe better not to re-surface them.
    Materials composition used to do the job has been cheated. This can kill. Please KILL corrupt parties to the poor job not road users.

  85. I notice some nasty accident @ North South Highway last Sunday (28/3/2010).
    Road condition wet because of rain. It involved 4 to 5 cars. If what I read above even if half truth, then the more reason you have to be worried.
    I am not sure exactly what happen because I was in a bus travelling from KL to BW. But passing by I saw a car skided sideway, one banked very bad at the back, one or two damaged and I remembered few people lying on the floor with bloods. So for frequent traveller, be extra careful esp. rainy day. Judging from the condition of last car I saw (banked very bad from behind), I guessed the first car slowed down, then rest follow too fast or too close.

  86. 28/3/2010. Travelling in bus from KL to BW. Saw accident involving 4 to 5 cars. Few persons lying on floor with blood. 1 car side way skidded. 1 car behind badly broken. 1 car front badly broken. It was raining. So North South 3 lane user, beware! Accident happen before Ipoh. Not sure if it was before Sabak Bernam. Scary!

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