Stubborn motorists

Traffic congestion along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak in Johor Baru has worsened due to inconsiderate drivers who choose to park on the road instead of in the carpark as the Danga City Mall (DCM) Expo Hall gained popularity as an event hall.

These car owners stubbornly refuse to park in the adjacent
carpak located just 100m away!

Visitors to the events have become totally recalcitrant as they choose to double-park all the way from outside the mall to the junction of Jalan Kebun Teh Lama.  Cars that need to make U-turns at the traffic lights to head into DCM find it difficult to turn an arc as the road was made narrow by cars double-parked on the opposite side of the road.

I’ve even seen cars parked half-way up the ramp parallel to the mall, causing the double-lane ramp to the Inner Ring Road to be reduced to one lane.  Some of these drivers have also carelessly parked on the stripes painted on the road as a divider and even on the pavement under the ramp, causing more obstruction to traffic on the highway. 

Barriers put up outside DCM Expo Hall to deter drivers
from parking their cars here and to use the carpark

Aware of the problem, DCM deployed staff to direct traffic into the carpark especially during events at the Expo Hall.  But drivers continue to blatantly ignore the staff and choose to park their cars outside.  The truth is these car owners want to enjoy the event in the hall but are simply too lazy to walk the distance from the carpark and too stingy to pay parking fees.

It’s a shame that people want to enjoy a sale or can afford to shop at branded boutiques but yet do not have the common courtesy to park their cars in the right places.  Recently I saw a car with a red P sticker double-parked outside the new Johor Baru City Centre (JBCC), right next to a traffic sign for Strictly No Parking.  The car was obstructing the lane to turn into Johor Baru City Square and as I was commenting about the driver who does not know his or her Highway Code, she came out of JBCC holding a Victoria Secret paper bag and boldly got into her car and drove off.

Cars double-parked outside JBCC obstruct moving traffic
in the city centre

“Se-kejap sahaja!” seems to be the attitude of selfish and inconsiderate drivers who only care about their own comfort and convenience.  They think that leaving their cars in a No Parking zone for a little while is all right but the sad truth is such bad attitude is setting bad examples to young people and children.  New generations of drivers are learning from the adult drivers’ bad attitude by observing that it’s all right to disregard law and order and just do as they wish.

There are carparks available throughout the city but many drivers just choose not to park there.  For instance, the roads outside the Persada International Convention Centre are often congested because visitors to the events there refuse to park in the indoor or outdoor carparks.  Similarly, the road outside the Puteri Specialist Hospital is always narrow and not a smooth path for emergency vehicles because drivers just refuse to park in the adjacent carpark which is only 100m away!

When there's an event in DCM's Expo Hall, indiscriminately parked cars outside are a traffic hazard to other road users!

These recalcitrant car owners have created their own parking space on the stripes painted on the road as a divider!

It's incredible how these car owner insist on parking half-way up the ramp leading to the Inner Ring Road!

There are signs warning of clamping tyres and fines but unless these actions are enforced, stubborn drivers will continue to behave irresponsibly.  I strongly urge mall owners, the City Council and Traffic Police to put in their concerted effort to enforce the rules and regulations consistently to educate errant drivers and deter them from bad behaviour.  When cars are parked in the proper places, then roads will be clearer for smoother journeys and the comfort of all road users.

A version of this was published in The Malaysian Insider on 28 May 2015