Dangerous driving

Driving in developed countries such as the US, Australia, Germany, UK, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Singapore are all deemed very safe and orderly. Having a matured motoring culture and long driving history does have a significant impact on road safety, good driving etiquette and good driving behaviour. This however is not the case in the less developed countries such as India and China.

China and India has the highest accident rates in the world. China and India are the fastest growing economies in the world and car ownership is relatively new to many of its citizens. Only having a driver's license in the last 10 years and having just bought a car less than 10 years ago contributes to the lack of driving experience and couple that with very congested road network leads to chaotic driving conditions. China who were once filled with bicycles are now filled with cars. Many of the drivers in China do not care about the traffic laws and think the breaking the traffic laws are nothing serious. While in India, the country used to be filled with cows and bullock carts but now the roads are high filled with cars.

China and India combined boast the world's most dangerous highway network in the world. Dangerous in the sense that the motorist flout the law, there are no street lights (in India) on the highways, the drivers weave in and out of traffic without considering about other motorist on the road and stop in the middle of the highway because they missed a turn or have a problem with their car. India currently lead the statistics in the most road accidents in the world, their highways are not lit at night and trucks with no lights are plying those highways on a daily basis. Trucks will stop in the middle of the highway to change tyres, and vehicles will drive in opposing direction to the traffic flow.

These two countries can be economic power houses but they are sorely lacking proper driving etiquette and attitude. In countries such as Malaysia where driving etiquette used to be good, it has since gone down hill. These days you will find silly drivers who miss a turn on the highway reverse dangerously on the highway instead of taking the next turn off. You will also find many drivers beating red lights or driving in opposing direction to the traffic flow. All of these silly acts are down to the silly attitude and lack of consideration of the drivers.

motorcyclist on a death wish

In the last 18 that I have been driving in Malaysia I have seen no less than 30 accidents involving motorcyclist which resulted in at least one motorcyclist dying each time. It is a terrible statistic but this happen everyday in Malaysia. We have moronic people who ride motorcycles without helmets, do not strap their helmets on properly, weave in a out of traffic at high speeds, ride their motorcycles while lying on their stomachs (superman position), chatting on their mobile phones while riding, and doing stupid weaving stunts. Half of the stunts I have seen were not done alone but with a pillion rider behind.

Most of these motorcyclists are young (under the age of 30) and their only means of transport is their mopeds. Some who have extra money will modify their mopeds for more power. Others will just decorate them. Many of them will race each other in a large gang at night while some just do it in broad day light.

The statistics of motorcycle accidents is one of the highest in Malaysia. In most incidences the accidents are not caused by the car drivers but the silly motorcyclist who are trying to weave in and out of traffic and not taking notice of other vehicles on the road. A slight contact with a car or a truck will send the motorcyclist flying off the moped and onto the road where on coming traffic may not be able to avoid hitting them.

These people are risking too much for a bit of fun.

brand new tyres, retreads and regrooved tyres

When we buy tyres we have a choice of brand new tyres, retread tyres and now regrooved tyres. Naturally the cost of retread and regrooved tyres are much cheaper than brand new tyres. Having cheaper prices does have its impact in this current economic climate however there is always dangers associated with cheaper alternatives when it comes to tyres. Tyres the only contact point the car has with the road and having tyres with no grip will spell disaster in a matter of time.
Here are the differences between the retread and regrooved tyres:-

- Retread tyres: are tyres which have already worn out its original treads and a new layer of rubber with treads on it are glued on to the original tyre. This is highly popular with trucks and buses as these are much cheaper than brand new tyres. If you driving on the highway you will occasionally notice a large strip of rubber tread sitting on the side of the highway. These are the retreaded strips that have come off the truck or bus tyres. It is highly dangerous if the retreads are not done properly and not affixed properly. Usually the tyre shop will glue it onto the old tyre but these glue or adhesives are not designed to handle the heat from the tyres when it is in motion, couple that with the harsh road conditions the retreads will come off very easily. Retreads have been around for more than 30 years. Dangerous as it may sound, the truckers and bus companies seem to not care about the safety aspect and continue to use this. The cost savings are very significant considering the average truck uses 12 or more tyres. Professional retreaders who have been in the business for decades will know how to properly apply the new treads. Retread tyres for passenger cars are not as common as commercial vehicles but as the world economy is in recession more people may opt for retreads to save money.

- Regrooved tyres: this is quite new considering that it only was made available about 5 years ago. This type of tyre is highly dangerous as old tyres that are bald are regrooved meaning that new grooves are cut into the tyre tread area and a new layer of carbon black is applied to make the tyre look new. Every tyre has a certain limit of tread depth that is deemed safe however with this regrooved tyre, it is pushing the limits of safety. The less tread depth available them ore dangerous it is for the car. Small sharp objects can easily cause a puncture and result in very quick deflation. Tyre blow outs my also occur causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Regrooved tyres also cannot handle as much heat as a normal new tyre due to the thinner tread the heat build up is greater and cannot dissipate as effectively.

Making the right choice will effect the safety of your car.

Going for bigger wheels

Car companies are coming out with new cars with increasingly larger wheels with each new model. 10 years ago a typical 1.5 or 1.6 litre engine car would run on 13" or 14" wheels. Now you can see 1.6 litre engine cars running on 16" and 17" wheels. This is the same for 2.0 litre engine cars that were running on 14" and 15" wheels 10 years ago. Now you will see a 2.0 litre engine car running on 17" and 18" wheels. The reason for this is to provide better grip as the engine becomes more powerful with improvement in technology. BMW has been leading the way with large wheels for their cars. The BMW 5 series (E39) in late 1990s were running on 16" wheels, the current BMW 5 series (F10) is running on 18". Comparing this with Mercedes of a similar class such as the E-Class, it is only running on 17" wheels.

The Japanese car manufacturers have also been increasing the wheel sizes for their cars but not nearly as aggressive as BMW.
However, some new car owners will find the original size too small for their liking and size up even further. It is no uncommon to find a current model Honda Civic running on 18" wheels. It may look outlandishly big but it somehow makes the car look better.

The original wheels and tyre combination chosen by the car manufacturing is designed to take into consideration the grip level, fuel consumption, speed rating, tyre wear and ride comfort. Once the new set of larger after market wheels are used, many factors will change and it is not always for the better. Sizing up wheels and tyre can lead to several issues such as aqua planing when driving in heavy rain, poor fuel consumption, faster tyre wear and speedometer inaccuracy.
Making the car look good with bigger wheels is one thing but with larger tyres it also means more expensive replacement cost. Large tyres are without a doubt more expensive than smaller tyres and large low profile tyres wear out a lot faster than smaller tyres.

Thailand automotive accessories industry

Thailand has one of the most vibrant automotive accessories industry in South East Asia. Over 60% of new cars that are sold every month will have some sort of accessories added to the car. The most popular among the young car owners are to change new wheels, add body kits or change the original radio to a unit with a LCD monitor and TV tuner. The reason for all these changes are to make themselves different from the others and also add in-car entertainment to keep themselves entertained when they are stuck in the notorious Bangkok traffic jams. Having nothing to do in traffic jams, watching TV is the natural choice among Thai people. In car entertainment is a much bigger business in Thailand than compared to Malaysia.

The annual Bangkok Motorshow has some of the most elaborately decorated and modified cars in this region. On average many new car owners will spend over US$2000 on their cars. The modifications are not limited to men. Women are starting to spend money on their cars to make them look better and have better quality audio systems. Surprising as it may be, the industry's growth is not fuelled by men only, women are contributing to the growth.

On the more extreme end of automotive accessories industry, you will be able to find hardcore modifications such as engine swaps, performance tuning and cosmetic modifications like wide body kits. The illegal street racing scene in Thailand is very much alive and kicking. One would be able to watch illegal drag racing at night and even street level drifting. All this fuel the automotive accessories industry in Thailand.

Buying cars with small weedy engines

In Asia where the road tax is calculated based on engine capacity really puts a damper on buying cars with large engines. In Malaysia where the road tax cost increases exponentially once the engine exceeds 2,000cc is very painful for people who buy cars with engines larger than 2,000cc. For example, a Toyota Estima with a 3 litre engine would cost RM2900 to register each year compared to a Toyota Camry 2.0 which cost only RM390 to register each year! This is one of the reason why we see so many small engine continental cars such as the 520i, E200, 320i, C180 and S280. The buyers will opt for the smallest engines possible to keep the road tax as low as possible and also to keep the fuel consumption low. Asians are notoriously stingy when it comes to paying for fuel.

The problem with this is that these cars will be under powered. When I say under powered I mean not having sufficient power to pull the weight of the car when fully loaded with passengers.
Here are some of the typically under powered cars:-
- Kia Carnival 2.5
- Hyundai Trajet 2.0
- Proton Exora auto
- Proton Gen2
- BMW 318i, 320i
- BMW 116i , 118i
- Mercedes E200 (no supercharger)

Some of these models have just enough power to pull the weight of the car and 1 occupant. Once fully loaded these cars will struggle to go uphills, struggle to accelerate beyond 120km/h and naturally guzzle a lot of fuel in the process. This can be dangerous when the car has insufficient power to overtake slow vehicles. Many drivers underestimate the lack of performance and this has led to accidents.
The fault is not with the engine as the engine is designed to work to provide a certain level of performance however the weight of the car is a problem. If you have a car that weighs 2,000kg (fully loaded) and the engine only has 140hp and 180Nm of torque, it will naturally struggle. Apart from just struggling to haul the weight, the engine is also put under tremendous stress having to squeeze out every last horsepower and newton metre of torque just to make the car move. The extreme stress on the engine will lead to high fuel consumption and high wear and tear on the engine components. Engine parts will inevitably fail sooner.

Now with the introduction of small engines with forced induction (turbo or supercharger) have tremendously helped by boosting torque and horsepower. These days you can see cars such as Peugeot 5008 MPV with a 1.6 litre turbo and the VW Cross Touran with a 1.4 Twin charge engine (turbo and supercharge). These cars are one of the best examples in down sizing engines but yet maintaining a respectable level of performance.

Next time before buying a new car, take the time to test drive it (with several passengers if possible) and test the performance of the car. If it is going to struggle with passengers on board, consider buying something a little more powerful. This will make the driving experience less stressful and more enjoyable.

Drifting

Drifting started in the 1990s when a few Japanese race car drivers experimented with doing power slides going down a hill outside Tokyo. This style of driving caught on and was made even more popular with the Japanese manga Initial D. Drifting is often considered grass root motorsport since all you need is a rear wheel drive car and a LSD. Peoples started buying old cars and modified the suspension to learn how to drift. This sport has now grown to the global level where drifters from across the world compete in international competitions for recognition, bragging rights and reputation.

What was once considered a cheap motorsport to get into has now progressed to a relatively expensive sport like any other motorsport. Old rear wheel drive models that were once considered old and out of date with little residual value became popular and the prices started going up. The best example was the Toyota Levin AE-86 and the Nissan Silvia S13, 14 and 15. These cars had the right platform for drifting but needed some modifications to the suspension and a LSD. As the sport grew the cars became more powerful, more sophisticated and had more modifications. Drifting exploded globally when drifting started in the US and the sport was commercialized. The Formula Drift races are televised creating the necessary exposure for the sport.

Driver skill and car setup were the most critical factors in drifting. It is not uncommon to see drifters and newbie drifters practicing their skills in empty car parks and empty streets. The secret to drifting is the ability to balance and control the car when it is going side ways. It is not as simple as merely pulling the park brake after turning the steering wheel. It takes skill, feel and courage to make a car go fast side ways. Drifting is like losing control of the car while still in control. Too much throttle input will cause the car to spin, too little throttle input the car will not drift, too much steering input the car will spin, too little steering input may also cause the car to spin.. there are many factors to consider and all this happen in a split second.

I personally have seen several people try to practice their drifting after rain at the Securities Commission car park. I have also seen drifter who practiced at the wrong place and ended up driving their car into ditches or large drains.
Malaysia despite being a small country has some of the best drifters in the region. Malaysian drifters have regularly finished in the top 4 in region competitions and some have even made it to the top 16 in US competitions.

These days drifting can be divided into various categories. Tandem drifting competitions where two cars will drift side by side. Long drift where car and drivers compete to see who can hold the longest drift.
Drifting is now the fastest growing motorsport in the world and it is open to men and women. It is also one of the best spectator sport in the motorsport world.