Gosh...it's really raining cats & dogs today! I work outside BSB and usually take the Muara-Tutong highway to work. On my return from Friday prayers the rain was so heavy...it was almost zero visibility all the way?!! Even driving home in the evening another unexpected heavy downpour happened!!
Well the weather is always beyond our control....but the road conditions are just plain dangerous!! I mean, all this issue of road safety, reckless driving etc....but has anyone stopped to think about the really bad state of our roads...especially our country's main highway that links it's 3 districts.... Bad road conditions are also a contributing factor to accidents....When it rains heavily no matter how much you slow down your speed ( I drove at about 4o km/h...still felt dodgy in the heavy rain!), with the all the massive puddles on the road/highway...one cannot help of being terrified by the thought of their car suddenly spinning out of control,ramming a barrier after hitting a big & deep wet patch. There have been numerous accidents on our roads due to poor weather conditions which is also coupled with driver error...but come'on, not everyone is well equipped with the knowledge of evasive driving??! Most of these accidents were contributed to poor road quality i.e. '' air bertakong'' . I suppose the relevant authorities should look into enforcing weight control on the heavy vehicles commuting on Brunei roads. Their monstrous weight + full cargoes wear out the tarmac gradually over time...sinking a few inches each year. I've seen some really heavily laden trucks on my daily commute (maybe they just want to cut transports costs..so stuff everything in 1 trip.... why so kiasu leh?!) Another alternative would increase the tax on these heavy transports... so the money can be used to better maintain our highways & roads. Those are just some open suggestions... still is up to the authorities.
A lot of factors contributing to accidents have popped up in my mind lately following the present road safety campaign (Also I was driving dead slow in the rain...was keeping myself amused at the same time - self argument?! hahah!) . The public should also be advised on proper car maintenance like 'not to drive with balding tyres & faulty brakes'! But then, most of us can be ignorant at times ( we're only human and purposely choose not to wear our seatbelts...eventually we suffer by paying a high price for it with our lives!!), so that again is another obstacle the authorities should consider (changing peoples mindset...goodluck with that yeah?!) Heavier priced compounds (saman) has not dettered anyone from repenting their misdemenours either....
Anyway...these are my ramblings for today...it's been a long day at work & I'm looking forward to a peaceful weekend of deep thought (sleeping....hahah). To all the daily commuters driving on the Muara-Tutong-KB highway...buckle up please, drive safe & drive smart ... a life is just to much to lose in a meaningless accident... so don't let yourself be another statistic.
Well the weather is always beyond our control....but the road conditions are just plain dangerous!! I mean, all this issue of road safety, reckless driving etc....but has anyone stopped to think about the really bad state of our roads...especially our country's main highway that links it's 3 districts.... Bad road conditions are also a contributing factor to accidents....When it rains heavily no matter how much you slow down your speed ( I drove at about 4o km/h...still felt dodgy in the heavy rain!), with the all the massive puddles on the road/highway...one cannot help of being terrified by the thought of their car suddenly spinning out of control,ramming a barrier after hitting a big & deep wet patch. There have been numerous accidents on our roads due to poor weather conditions which is also coupled with driver error...but come'on, not everyone is well equipped with the knowledge of evasive driving??! Most of these accidents were contributed to poor road quality i.e. '' air bertakong'' . I suppose the relevant authorities should look into enforcing weight control on the heavy vehicles commuting on Brunei roads. Their monstrous weight + full cargoes wear out the tarmac gradually over time...sinking a few inches each year. I've seen some really heavily laden trucks on my daily commute (maybe they just want to cut transports costs..so stuff everything in 1 trip.... why so kiasu leh?!) Another alternative would increase the tax on these heavy transports... so the money can be used to better maintain our highways & roads. Those are just some open suggestions... still is up to the authorities.
A lot of factors contributing to accidents have popped up in my mind lately following the present road safety campaign (Also I was driving dead slow in the rain...was keeping myself amused at the same time - self argument?! hahah!) . The public should also be advised on proper car maintenance like 'not to drive with balding tyres & faulty brakes'! But then, most of us can be ignorant at times ( we're only human and purposely choose not to wear our seatbelts...eventually we suffer by paying a high price for it with our lives!!), so that again is another obstacle the authorities should consider (changing peoples mindset...goodluck with that yeah?!) Heavier priced compounds (saman) has not dettered anyone from repenting their misdemenours either....
Anyway...these are my ramblings for today...it's been a long day at work & I'm looking forward to a peaceful weekend of deep thought (sleeping....hahah). To all the daily commuters driving on the Muara-Tutong-KB highway...buckle up please, drive safe & drive smart ... a life is just to much to lose in a meaningless accident... so don't let yourself be another statistic.
1 comment:
Hey Joe - I guess the highway must be due for complete resurfacing by now. Maintenance should be ongoing, but I take it from your post that the highway is in quite a state. I left Brunei about 10 years ago; at that time it seemed that a lot of emphasis was made on the "new" but not so much on maintaining the "existing". I wonder what the official take on road maintenance is?
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