Double lines at entrance to motorcycle lanes: Safety suggestion

I have actually passed by a motorcyclist lying motionless on the entrance of a motorbike lane near Carlesburg Beer Shah Alam. He got involved with a collision as he entered the motorbike lane with another motorbike passing that entrance (there were many helpers around).

Now look at the photo before my suggestion:



Now I know I am no artist nor do I have Photoshop. I used PC Paint but this picture should give you some idea how it can help prevent what I described above:



It is not professional, but enough to describe to authorities how they can help make our motorcycling experience safer.

Any professional artist out there who can help?

Introduction and setting up a Bahasa Malaysia version

Malaysia's public transport still have a long way to go. There are many places not served or not served well by public transport. Further, to get from one place to another, taking public transport may involve 2, 3, 4 or even more to get to another. The public have no choice but to get either a car or motorcycle. A car uses a lot more resources, burns up more rapidly depleting fossil fuel (petrol), takes up more space, demand much more road space plus infrastructures like very expensive flyovers, etc. Environmentally, it makes more sense to ride a motorcycle around.

I myself uses a Suzuki scooter, and for me, once I have enjoyed the freedom, the ease of finding a parking space close to where I want to go, not having to pay toll and very often, not having to pay parking, is such a pleasure and luxury, I hate to use the car and will only uses my children's car when using a motorcycle is not an option.

I think we Malaysian motorcycle owners and users should get together and form an association. With numbers, we have strength. Strength to get dangerous problems like potholes get repaired quickly. Strength to request for safe features to make riding a motorcycle safer. I will soon make a post as an example how riding motorcycle may be made slightly safer. I will soon make another suggestion on how to make getting to a place more conveniently. I will further make one more suggestion to try to get the authorities to extend a motorcycle lane further so one can stay in the safer motorcycle lane to get to another place.

Further, we can all together act as motorcycle user eyes to spot either dangerous situations or make various suggestions to the authorities to make our motorcycling experiences safer and more enjoyable.

I have talked to an elected state representative if he would be willing to act as patron and he seemed interested. In fact, there is every possibility in persuading to join as a member as well as he is still keeping his motorcycle from his student days and I suppose, using it every now and then. He is an elected representative from a coalition in a state where their coalition is in power. Further, he has Member of Parliament friends to whom he can transmit our requests or suggestions.

Now if our requests or suggestions are reasonable, I don't see why they would not help get them implemented. I believe we now have Federal and State Governments which are more receptive to the needs of the Malaysians.

One more thing I have done is I have talked a a large motorcycle distributor and he is willing to support us by helping distribute our application form. Our application form may also be made downloadable online so anybody anywhere in Malaysia can just download it, print it, fill it in to us. I will also try to see how to make the form such that you may not even have to print it, but fill it in online and send it in online as well.

If we decide to make this formal by officially registering with the Registrar of Society, I will also see if AGM (Annual General Meeting) can be made online perhaps spread over a few days to make getting the quorum required easier.

Otherwise, I will see if we can exist as an unregistered organization, but still get things done. Whatever it is, we have to try to get our potential members and try to get this Association off the ground. I have already found one, myself. I am confident I will be able to enlist more.

I hope if you are a motorcycle user or future user, you will indicate your desire to join by leaving a comment and giving me a way to contact you, preferably by email. You may indicate you do not want the comment to be published so that once I have the details, I can immediately get the details and save the email message. If you don't want the details public, it will never be approved so will not be public as all comments need to be approved to get published. You let me know you don't want it approved, just so I can have the details, your message will never make it to the Web.

If you plan to join, I hope you will also inform your contacts who are motorcycle users or even motorcycle sympathizers to join. I will need to check what types of Constitution we can set up so that perhaps even non-motorcycle owners who may either ride pillion or sometimes borrow friends' or relatives' motorcycle, may also join.

But first, let us form and increase this group of potential members and we can have an online discussions as to how to get going.

When I get the time, I will get a Bahasa Malaysia version of this blog so those who are more comfortable with that language can join that Bahasa Malaysia version (Persatuan Motosikal Malaysia).