A lucky one: An overjoyed Yaganes showing off the dashcam he received as one of the winners.
PETALING JAYA: Young truck driver K. Yaganes is out to dispel the stereotype that a larger vehicle automatically cloaks its operator with a bully mentality.
“I have always been very concerned about road safety,” Yaganes, who spends 11 hours a day on the road, five days a week, said yesterday.
The 22-year-old works for a courier company and has been driving a one-tonne truck for three years in his hometown, Penang.
“My truck is comparatively smaller than many lorries out there, but other drivers don’t really see the difference – they just see my truck as huge!
“My main concern is motorbikes, which often speed and try to cut into my lane. They don’t care too much about trucks, because they think they are faster.
“It’s particularly bad in the industrial areas,” he said, adding that he had seen two accidents involving trucks and motorcycles caused by such reckless road behaviour.
He said getting a dashcam was one of the measures he considered to stay safe on the road, to capture the actions of errant road users.
His “wishlist” is one item shorter now – thanks to the 45@45 Giveaways being held to celebrate The Star turning 45 this year.
Yaganes was among 45 winners in the first round of the 45@45 Giveaways, all receiving an Eagle i EG-228 dashcam each.
“I plan to send any interesting footage I receive to The Star to raise awareness of road safety,” he said, pledging to also send beautiful or heart-warming scenes he might see on the road.
There will be 45 prizes given away every 45 days, with each round of giveaways being unique.
Look out for the next giveaway on June 11. The newspaper will celebrate its anniversary on Sept 9.