Reminder: Lane Hogging Isn’t Just Annoying, It’s Also A Punishable Offence!

Found yourself stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle in the right-most lane? Yes, this is a very common problem amongst Malaysian motorists...

We’re certain many of you have come across this problem before. You’re in the midst of overtaking on the highway, but suddenly find yourself impeded by a car sitting in the right lane and trundling along just below or right around the speed limit. Despite having flashed your high-beams or even honking several times, said motorists remains unmoved, as if unaware or unwilling to yield.

Before long, this situation leads you to two possible outcomes. The first and most common is having a line of cars forming behind you, all trying to make progress as you are but can’t. Second is when you’re forced to find an opening and dive down into the left lane to ‘undertake’ from the left instead to get clear ahead of said moving car. Though a risky move, it’s not uncommon.

Unfortunately, this particular problem called lane hogging, is a reality for many motorists in Malaysia. Indeed, this is a serious problem as it can cause congestion by forcing those behind to slow down, thus creating an accordion effect. Worse still, lane hogging can also cause accidents for those stuck behind who have no choice but risk a collision to ‘undertake’ and weave around them.

Ultimately, the root cause of lane hogging is as simple offenders having very little situational awareness, or being distracted by things like their phones whilst at the wheel. Worse still though, there also a high number of these offenders who think just because they drive at or just under the speed limit, they are entitled to sit on the middle or right lanes.

Aptly, that’s not case. Not only is lane hogging a major annoyance, it’s also an offence, one that’s punishable with fines amounting between RM300 at the very least, or a maximum of RM2,000, reminds Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) Director Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri recently via a special interview with local primetime television news Buletin Utama.

The interview was part of a special insight by the national TV network TV3’s nightly primetime news recently. “If drivers want to reduce their speed, they should move to the left lane of the highway to give way to other road users for them to resume their journeys smoothly and at the set speed limit,” said Yusri further who also described lane hogging as a “highly irresponsible” behaviour.

In the eyes of the law, lane hogger can be fined anywhere between RM300 to RM2,000, reminds JSPT director Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri.

Adding to which, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) described lane hogging as a reflection of the lack of awareness and discipline amongst Malaysian road users. The organisation puts it high on its list of wrongdoings, which also includes both distracted driving and the use of phones while driving – both have arguably reached alarming levels of late too.

“If we ask Malaysians, most will say that driving over the speed limit is wrong, but they don’t realise that driving slowly in the fast lane is [also] an offence,” says Norfaizah Mohamad Khaidir, one of MIROS’ senior research officer. She added most feel they have the right to be in the middle or right lanes as long as they don’t exceed the speed limit.

Perhaps it's time to remind ourselves that the right-most lane is only meant for overtaking, not a space we can occupy permanently.

Of course, with any problem, there’s always a solution, and it almost always starts with one own self first. With this information in hand, perhaps it’s not wrong for us to remind ourselves to practice lane discipline by keeping to the left lane, and only moving to the middle or right lanes to overtake.

Moreover, if you happen to know someone who is a frequent lane hogger, you might want to remind them about how said act is both irresponsible and against the law…