Make road hogging an offence

I COULDN’T agree more with “Leave the middle lane to fast-moving vehicles” ( The Star, March 21). I have highlighted the same issue in these columns on Sept 4, 2010, but it seems that no action has been taken so far by the relevant authorities to curb this problem.

Since the Government started to spend billions of ringgit building three-lanes expressway, we can also see many road users engaging in a common habit – road hogging.

I keep on wondering what is the purpose of the third (leftmost) lane, as most of the time it is left empty. Credit should be given to those civic-minded drivers who utilise this lane.

I feel weird knowing that road hogging cannot be classified as a traffic offence and that no summons can be issued.

Worse still, this problem has not been treated seriously by the enforcement authorities although it has indirect correlation to road accidents and traffic jams. Yes, road hogging causes unnecessary traffic problems.

If no action is taken by the enforcement authorities, are we perhaps not encouraging more and more drivers to become ignorant and selfish?

It has become a trend for most Malaysian drivers to drive leisurely and to daydream without taking into consideration other drivers’ needs or urgency. More often than not, we can see vehicles going at 80km/h on the right and middle lanes of the expressway even when the speed limit is 110km/h.

I am not asking people to speed, but I wish they would not obstruct traffic by hogging and monopolising the road. Speed does not necessarily kill, but ignorance and selfishness can contribute to a large number of deaths. COMMON SENSE DRIVER, Seri Kembangan, Selangor.