REMEMBER the tagline from the public service announcement (PSA) on road safety from yesteryear that warned “malang tidak berbau” (literally, ‘tragedy strikes without warning”).
A video of an accident that purportedly occurred in front of the Perodua showroom in Balakong, Selangor certainly underlines that truism.
The short clip was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by #UpdateInfo (@update1111) shows a car being driven into a compound with the driver hurriedly exiting the vehicle.
With the door still ajar and the driver obviously having forgotten to engage the hand brake, the car slides backwards out of the open gate and towards oncoming traffic onto a busy main road.
Kecuaian yg tak boleh dibincang.. balakong perodua, ingat staf perodua nak terkencing sangat tu, lari tinggal kereta .. pic.twitter.com/sIDkzPhVzf
— #UpdateInfo🇲🇾🌍 (@update11111) June 8, 2024
Unsuspecting motorists had to slam on their brakes or swerve at this sudden and unexpected intrusion. However, two motorcyclists who were not quick enough ended up slamming head-on into the side of the car.
The post which has since generated 955,000 views at time of writing elicited plenty of comments with many expressing concern for the blameless victims.
Quite a few who confirmed that the incident did indeed take place at the Perodua Balakong showroom queried how a staff of a motor vehicle manufacturer could forget to engage the hand brake. Isn’t this basic driving know-how?
With many lamenting that due to this driver’s “stupidity”, a couple of innocent motorists have suffered injuries and great inconvenience.
Of course, it didn’t take long for posts with sexists’ insinuations to pop up.
Many called for legal action. One netizen even suggested suing both the errant driver as well as the branch manager for hiring such unqualified staff to represent Perodua.
One went further and suggested jail time for the driver.
With another netizen pointing out that imprisonment is possible when there are fatalities.
Another reminded of the SOP when a vehicle is at standstill.
Yes, it was purely unintentional and an ‘accident’ in all senses of the word, borne out of carelessness, forgetfulness and poor driving etiquette – or all three.
But it has to be said that this incident paints a very poor picture of Perodua as its staff is reflective of company culture. What does it say of a car manufacturer that hires staff who do not have basic driving skills?
A few perhaps summed up what many are expecting to happen.
FocusM wishes to remind all motorist to be mindful and to always be conscientious of their actions.
The above incident highlights how a moment’s lack of attention can lead to a road accident. No amount of excuses will ever repair the damage especially if the mishap causes serious injury or worse, a loss of life.
Remember that the old PSA ads used to also remind motorists: “berhati-hati bila di jalanraya” (literally, “be vigilant on the roads”). – June 10, 2024
