Road accident in Cameron Highlands
Malaysians rely on our cars a lot. We hop on our trusty vehicles to jalan-jalan and state-hop for our weekend trips. But when more people drive, and drive more often, there is bound to be a higher number of road accidents reported.
But what’s worrying is that in the first half of 2019, more than 280,000 road accidents were reported – a 2.5% increase from the same period in the previous year. That’s why an accident that took place in Cameron Highlands on 16th August which was caught on a passing motorist’s dashcam is serving as a reminder to everyone to practice road safety diligently.
Accident in Cameron Highlands caught on dashcam
A video of the road accident, which happened between two cars and was caught on a passing motorist’s dashcam, was uploaded on the Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force’s official Twitter page on the evening of 17th August. In less than 24 hours, it’s racked up more than 524,000 views and almost 20,000 retweets at the time of writing.
Image credit: @My_CrimeWatch
The video recording was posted with a Malay caption that translates to, “It’s best if you just follow the car in front of you and don’t overtake when driving along the Tapah route to Cameron Highlands because the road is narrow and steep. If not, what happened in this video is likely to occur again. The incident happened yesterday.”
In the video, a red saloon is seen overtaking the car with the dashcam – already a risky move as it entered the lane for traffic going in the opposite direction. There was ample space in front for the red car to move back into its lane, but it continued to speed along the same lane.
A few seconds later, it collided with an oncoming black car.
Image credit: @My_CrimeWatch
A loud crash was then heard in the video and the drivers of both the vehicles involved in the accident then came out of their cars and proceeded to yell at one another. The black car’s driver was clearly furious and distraught.
Netizens emphasise the importance of road safety and etiquette
Image credit: @E1LaE1nas7
In the replies to the viral tweet, many netizens expressed their puzzlement over the red saloon’s driver’s actions.
Twitter user @E1LaE1nas7 commented, “The Tapah route to Cameron Highlands is narrow and winding. If you’re an impatient driver, avoid driving up.
“Everyone wants to reach [their destination] quickly, but if an accident happens, you’re delaying everybody else. I find it weird that the red car didn’t go back into its lane after overtaking?”
Image credit: @IzAzalan_
They also reminded each other to be extremely cautious when driving up Cameron Highlands and highlighted the conditions of the road. @IzAzalan_ said in a tweet in Malay that even though they drive up daily, they do not even dare overtake other cars as it’s extremely dangerous to do so.
She added that there are spots where the corners are sharp and huge lorries often pass by. One wrong step, and a driver could fall off the ravine.
Image credit: @nazmii52
Netizen @nazmii52 also echoed the hazardous road condition by tweeting, “Don’t speed on this road. Not only are the roads tight, but there are also many potholes and blind spots, so just chill and don’t overtake other cars.”
Cameron Highlands road accident
Road accidents don’t just cause a huge inconvenience to other motorists, they can destroy lives, inflict grave injury, and ruin public infrastructure too. This is why this video of the road accident on Cameron Highlands is a reminder that it’s of utmost importance for every driver to practice road safety, especially when navigating steep and narrow roads.
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Cover image adapted from: @My_CrimeWatch