Observation

Since moving to Malaysia, I have noticed that I have become a more observant driver. I spend more of my driving time looking out for other drivers and motorcyclists. I see things happening on side-streets and on the footpath, and am generally more ready for the numerous surprises that constitute the daily lottery that is driving in Malaysia.

Yesterday morning I drove from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, and I realised something. My aware and alert state of driving is not the result of extra effort or new skills attained since my feet hit Asian shores. Neither is it the result of being less occupied with other matters, which I had previously thought might be the case. Rather, it is the result of having available the majority of my “driving brain”, my conscious and unconscious mind that scans for possibilities, makes decisions and reacts accordingly while I manoeuvre one or two tonne of steel around obstacles on the road. In Australia, I don't have this luxury, and as a result, I don't see as much around me. Why is this? After driving to the Gold Coast yesterday (to take the inventor to a cardiologist appointment and then this morning to the airport), I realise that I spend a good deal of my attention on rules. Especially speed. Instead of scanning for cars changing lanes or vehicles stopping unexpectedly, I spend nearly half of my driving time glancing at my speedometer and scanning for speed limit signs. I'm also continually scanning the sides of the roads and bridges for police cars and cameras, because despite my attempts to follow the rules, I do make mistakes. In Malaysia, almost all of this energy and visual awareness is spent gauging the traffic conditions, predicting problems and making myself and other drivers safe on the road.

This isn't to say that it is safer driving in Malaysia- far from it. Each year, five times more people die on Malaysian roads than Australian roads, despite the populations being very similar (26 million in Malaysia, 23 million in Australia). The Malaysian people on the whole appreciate the lack of enforcement on the roads and while they begrudgingly pay the bribes to avoid fines, prefer this to following the normal course of the law. Many embrace the lawlessness on the roads, travelling at 160 on the expressways, weaving across roads without regard for other vehicles, and doing what they please. Malaysia is spiralling in peril with no law enforcement, while Australia has made and enforced rules to the extent of oppression. 

If only there was a happy medium.