IT IS raining heavily and you are on the road, driving through poor visibility while trying to stay extra cautious due to the difficult driving conditions.
You could not afford to stop, as you must carry on with your journey. In an act of instinct and desperation, you are willing to pull out all the stops of concern for yourself and other drivers.
So you decided to be a hero by turning on your hazard lights so others can spot you more easily because you remember hearing about it somewhere.
It might be a myth, a legend, passed down from generation to generation. But is it true that you should turn on your hazard lights while driving in the rain so other drivers can see you better?
Verdict:
FALSE
This needs to stop. Now. If anything, it's a wrongful use of the hazard lights and it is actually dangerous to do.
The use of hazard lights while driving is forbidden in the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333) except when a car is in an immobile state due to an emergency, breakdown or accident.
Before you get started on the "everybody knows this, la" rant, you should first ask yourself why it is still happening then.
Despite authorities clarifying this time and time again, road users, particularly Malaysians (strangely), continue to repeat these hazardous acts countless times over the years.
It is not doing anyone a favour. It is just making the situation worse by creating more confusion for others.
Keep in mind that when the hazard lights are on, the turn signal ceases to work.
Other drivers won't be able to gauge if a car with the hazard lights on is trying to stop, turn or is actually having an emergency.
Other misuse of the hazard light which is against the law includes turning it on during thick fog and together with other cars in a convoy.
What happens when there's a car that is having an actual emergency and everybody has their hazard lights on?
So let us create a better driving experience and use our hazard lights responsibly.
Reference:
2. https://www.commonlii.org/my/
