The title may seem a little too dramatic for the absence of a neccessity that we utillise so much but we take for granted; our cars or to add a little luxury to the word, automobile. Most of us have them, while some are in the process of getting one and some who feel it is more convenient to use public transport or a motorbike.
Be it whatever car, from a Mazda RX-8 to a Perodua Kancil, the owners take pride in their machines for daily commute and simply for fun! I guess it is not only about the value of the car but the ability to be mobile and the freedom to move boldly where our hearts desire.
My recent post here is a sad one about something that both Ruby and I treasure deeply; Ruby's Perodua Kelisa Auto @ "Christine".
Last Wednesday, I received a call early in the morning from Ruby saying that someone had knocked her car from the rear. I jumped out of bed and made a few calls to my favourite Perodua service centre in Penang, near to the Gama shopping complex, but to no avail as it was before office hours. Thankfully Ruby was fine and was able to tell me what was going on at the scene.
Ruby's car could still move so she took the culprits contacts to meet up later that day to make the police report and subsequently arrange for the cars to be fixed. Well, most deffinitely the culprit's insurance company will pay for the repairs to Ruby's car!
As we speak, Ruby's car is currently in the Perodua Main Service Centre in Penang under the care of my "boys", hence, everything is "organized".
Dreadfully, it is going to take approximately two weeks to have the car repaired and collected by Ruby. It is something I very much dislike but I have no choice but to leave it in the hands of the relevant authorities.
The point that I would like to bring up here is the agonizing fact of owning a car but you can't use it because of someone elses fault. Yes, accidents are inevitable since the dawn of the car. When cars came, accidents came with it too. Nonetheless, I cannot stop outpouring my dissatisfaction over this.
Being without a car can be a real pain. I know what it feels like as I have been in the same situations before with my old car. God forbid anything were to happen to my new one!
No matter how careful we are on the road, there are always other factors that contribute to an accident; other motorist, road conditions and weather. It sounds pretty scary and some may be very stressed out with driving due to extreme stress of being involved in an accident. However, I assure you, in life, we can do so much. There will be always be other things that be the reason for things to go wrong.
What I have learnt from this event is that it is good to have an automobile association or a reliable insurance company that handles accident claims and towing away the car to a safe spot. In addition to that, the complicated paper work and people to see to get the issue resolved can be tedious.
Based on my experience, I am a member of AAM(Automobile Association of Malaysia) . My parents and my aunts have been loyal supporters of AAM for many years. When I first got my driving license, my mom got me a supplementary card under her as a precaution.
When I started working, I joined on my own as a member. They handle my roadtax, car insurance, my driving license, vehicle breakdowns and accidents (towing and all the necessary paperwork). It is convenient in the sense it puts you at a little ease of being a car owner and driving. The service I admit is not perfect but they get the job done.
One thing that I try to practice is defensive driving. Be always on the lookout and alert to different situations in traffic; motorist, road conditions and weather.
Motorist are unpredictable. They are like sperm that roam freely during conjugation to fertilize the egg. Some of them are in a rush and some are just plain stupid! We always need to anticipate the moves of such people for the bennefit of our safety and that of our our loved ones and the safety of our vehicles.
Roads in Malaysia are tricky. Some are good roads but most are not; roads are filled with uneven surfaces, potholes, confusing road-signs and road-kill. Using our instinct, we need to be always alert and adapt to these changes and abnormalities. Also, this is to protect the wear-and-tear of our cars like from potholes that could damage our undercarriage, tyres and suspension system.
Weather these days is unpredictable. The rain sometimes gets so heavy that it disrupts our view while on the road. A suggestion would be to switch on your lights and wipers and lower your speed. Never use your emergency signal lights as it gives the wrong impression that the car has broken down and is stationary.
Always ensure the tyres have sufficient thread to sustain grip while driving. A tip would be to check the grooves of a tyre with a coin. I suggest that if only 25% or less of the coin is "hidden", it would be best to change your tyres. Don't go for re-threaded or uncommon brand names. Stick to the main tyre manufactures like Sime Tyres. However, despite having new tyres, we still cannot take for granted the road conditions on a rainy day.
With this post in mind, I do hope everyone drives safe, be cautious while driving and try to help others by giving them a lift if needed! :)
Be it whatever car, from a Mazda RX-8 to a Perodua Kancil, the owners take pride in their machines for daily commute and simply for fun! I guess it is not only about the value of the car but the ability to be mobile and the freedom to move boldly where our hearts desire.
My recent post here is a sad one about something that both Ruby and I treasure deeply; Ruby's Perodua Kelisa Auto @ "Christine".
Last Wednesday, I received a call early in the morning from Ruby saying that someone had knocked her car from the rear. I jumped out of bed and made a few calls to my favourite Perodua service centre in Penang, near to the Gama shopping complex, but to no avail as it was before office hours. Thankfully Ruby was fine and was able to tell me what was going on at the scene.
Ruby's car could still move so she took the culprits contacts to meet up later that day to make the police report and subsequently arrange for the cars to be fixed. Well, most deffinitely the culprit's insurance company will pay for the repairs to Ruby's car!
As we speak, Ruby's car is currently in the Perodua Main Service Centre in Penang under the care of my "boys", hence, everything is "organized".
Dreadfully, it is going to take approximately two weeks to have the car repaired and collected by Ruby. It is something I very much dislike but I have no choice but to leave it in the hands of the relevant authorities.
The point that I would like to bring up here is the agonizing fact of owning a car but you can't use it because of someone elses fault. Yes, accidents are inevitable since the dawn of the car. When cars came, accidents came with it too. Nonetheless, I cannot stop outpouring my dissatisfaction over this.
Being without a car can be a real pain. I know what it feels like as I have been in the same situations before with my old car. God forbid anything were to happen to my new one!
No matter how careful we are on the road, there are always other factors that contribute to an accident; other motorist, road conditions and weather. It sounds pretty scary and some may be very stressed out with driving due to extreme stress of being involved in an accident. However, I assure you, in life, we can do so much. There will be always be other things that be the reason for things to go wrong.
What I have learnt from this event is that it is good to have an automobile association or a reliable insurance company that handles accident claims and towing away the car to a safe spot. In addition to that, the complicated paper work and people to see to get the issue resolved can be tedious.
Based on my experience, I am a member of AAM(Automobile Association of Malaysia) . My parents and my aunts have been loyal supporters of AAM for many years. When I first got my driving license, my mom got me a supplementary card under her as a precaution.
When I started working, I joined on my own as a member. They handle my roadtax, car insurance, my driving license, vehicle breakdowns and accidents (towing and all the necessary paperwork). It is convenient in the sense it puts you at a little ease of being a car owner and driving. The service I admit is not perfect but they get the job done.
One thing that I try to practice is defensive driving. Be always on the lookout and alert to different situations in traffic; motorist, road conditions and weather.
Motorist are unpredictable. They are like sperm that roam freely during conjugation to fertilize the egg. Some of them are in a rush and some are just plain stupid! We always need to anticipate the moves of such people for the bennefit of our safety and that of our our loved ones and the safety of our vehicles.
Roads in Malaysia are tricky. Some are good roads but most are not; roads are filled with uneven surfaces, potholes, confusing road-signs and road-kill. Using our instinct, we need to be always alert and adapt to these changes and abnormalities. Also, this is to protect the wear-and-tear of our cars like from potholes that could damage our undercarriage, tyres and suspension system.
Weather these days is unpredictable. The rain sometimes gets so heavy that it disrupts our view while on the road. A suggestion would be to switch on your lights and wipers and lower your speed. Never use your emergency signal lights as it gives the wrong impression that the car has broken down and is stationary.
Always ensure the tyres have sufficient thread to sustain grip while driving. A tip would be to check the grooves of a tyre with a coin. I suggest that if only 25% or less of the coin is "hidden", it would be best to change your tyres. Don't go for re-threaded or uncommon brand names. Stick to the main tyre manufactures like Sime Tyres. However, despite having new tyres, we still cannot take for granted the road conditions on a rainy day.
With this post in mind, I do hope everyone drives safe, be cautious while driving and try to help others by giving them a lift if needed! :)
