Monday, June 29, 2009

Unsafe Miri Road

Tonight has been raining rather heavily and I thought it is perfect timing for me to go out and shoot "night scene"! Because with the aid of water, it can prove my point clearer.
This is not meant to discredit anyone but rather to prompt the authority to think safety before doing anything. Because many of us use the road everyday. Well, you must have guessed that I work for Shell and therefore safety is our top priority because it saves life. Our loved ones expected us to return home safely everyday and therefore, we must do our part to guarantee that.
This is a road hump. The authority built many of them and also left most of them without maintenance. When the paint has peeled off, the hump becomes "invisible" like the one in this picture. So, it is more dangerous to the road users, especially motorcyclists when they ride over without slowing down. For cars, we have damaged underside.
Even more dangerous is when the contractor build a new hump and didn't paint it immediately. I heard of two motorcyclists died because of new hump without paint! So, who are we trying to save when we do thing in an unsafe manner? Can the authority ensure that new hump are painted immediately and old ones are properly maintained?
This is the most dangerous junction in Miri, and I am sure that there are many of them. This junction is after Pujut 7 bridge. On the right of this picture is Permyjaya. During the day time, the visibility is alright. However, during the night, the road divider for traffic going straight is invisible. Worse, there is no street light on the left. See for yourself on the picture above!
On a closeup view of the road, it is now clear that the left side is completely dark. Also, it is clear that many had run into the barrier/road divider - just see the traffic road sign being knocked down. The road divider is a very good idea but please make it safe! I suggest that the authority install some highly reflective material on the barrier and install more street lights to brighten up the place. If the authority cannot maintain the barrier, please make it lower, eg, three inches. The standard height is a killer if anyone runs into it. Think, what happen if your loved ones run into it!
While driving along the newly resurfaced road between SESCO and Pujut 7, you may have the feeling that the tyre is having problem or the car suspension is messed up. Yet the road surface look reasonably smooth. Anyway, if you have been wondering whether it is your car is having problem, think no more. The road has proven to have uneven surface that is invisible to the eyes as reviewed in the photo above. The arrows point to the uneven parts! I am sure that they were not made intentionally. Perhaps, just poor workmanship!

8 comments:

^SpRInG^ said...

I definitely agree with you. Sometimes people do things just for the sake of doing it, but do not think further of consequences, and in this case, safety itself.

Anonymous said...

u got a point there but to me whatever road there is in miri, it is always not safe to drive there because most drivers got no clue about driving!

lapsap said...

yes! most drivers doesnt think, in a second accident will happen! they dont have consideration about the other drivers.

ex said...

ROADS are factors really. BUT even the roads are good and signs are visible, still accident is rampant! Unbelievable place for driving, I just drive when I need to.....has very important thing to do. almost everyday 1 or 2 car accident on the road! scary!

William said...

Thanks for all your feedbacks. But we must separate driving style/habit from the infrastructure. With a good infrastructure, it helps people like you and me! With bad infra, it makes no different to those who are indifference. But for us, it becomes a hazard! So, if we have good infra and good drivers, accident is then an accident. But can the accident be avoidable?

chchoo said...

Uncle William, good sharing and taking excellent initiative to reach out to the community. We need more poeple like you to make this country great!

I hope you can e-mail these pictures to MMC. Even though they have been doing a great job for years, they might have overlooked the safety aspects of these road.

Anonymous said...

Interesting post. I would like to highlight as well at the junction going into Pujut 8 frm the main road. That junction is very dangerous. Ppl tend to make illegal U-turn at that junction & apparently many accidents happend there even death as well. i also noticed the road at that junction is not even & i tend to always forget there is a big hole in the middle of the road. this cause my car tyres to explode in time to come. I am a careful driver but still the road is not done n is sinking. I hope the authority willd o something bout it.

William said...

Anonymous: When I am in the right mood, I will carry my camera there and shoot some pictures. And I will post "safety hazard" hot spot!