Over the last month, five Singaporeans died and three others were injured in accidents along the North-South Expressway in Malaysia. The Sunday Times asked two driving experts to take us on a journey to Kuala Lumpur and back, and analyse what can go wrong.

Since the 848km North-South Expressway (NSE) opened 14 years ago after seven years in the making, it has given Singaporeans a fast and fuss-free way of driving in Malaysia.

But since that time, about 60 Singaporeans have also been killed in accidents. Most recently, swimming instructor Kason Ong Beng Kian, 42, died after his bike collided with a car, and four members of the Bong family died after their multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) veered off the highway and hit two trees.

Both tragedies happened near Pagoh, 130km from Singapore.

But don't blame the highway, said driving experts. It is, in fact, very well-built, safe and designed for high-speed use.

Statistics from the NSE's operator, Plus Expressways, suggests that. Last year, the number of fatalities for every billion vehicle-kilometres travelled was 6.1 - below the figure 10 targeted under the 2006-2010 Malaysia Road Safety Plan.

In comparison, Switzerland's figure was 1.4 on expressways in 2006 while Slovenia's was 8.1.

"Structurally, there's nothing wrong. It's a great route," said Singaporean Joseph Chua, 48, a former competitive driver who goes on regular driving holidays in Malaysia, Thailand and Laos.

Automobile Association of Singapore's (AAS) senior manager for membership and services division Leslie Wong, 49, described the NSE as "a breeze".

"It is a very straight road, except for the part near Ipoh where the highway becomes steep and winding. Even then, it's still quite safe," said the Singaporean former driving instructor who regularly leads AAS' auto ventures to Malaysia and beyond.

The two joined The Sunday Times on a road trip to Kuala Lumpur and back last week and gave pointers on navigating the NSE.
Based on past reports, drivers get into trouble the most along a stretch between Pagoh and Ayer Keroh.

A pump attendant at a Shell petrol station in Pagoh, Mr Muhammad Farhan Ngariff, 20, said he has seen 15 to 20 cars involved in accidents nearby in the last three months he has been working there.

One of them involved the Bong family, whom he remembered well as they had refuelled their car at his station on the morning of March 27. The accident happened 4km from the station, shortly after they left it.

"Accidents around here usually involve Singaporeans because they speed, like the superbikes or the big cars," he said in Malay.

This stretch comes after the only hilly area along the Singapore-Kuala-Lumpur route.

"After the hilly area, they will speed up because the road is straight and smooth-sailing," he said.

Another reason Singaporeans get into a fix there could be topographical. The area is prone to crosswinds as the road is higher than the surroundings.

Driving on either side of the expressway there, you will notice large orange windsocks at the roadside. They give you an indication of the wind direction and strength.

Other driving experts agree that strong crosswinds could be hazardous, especially to Singaporean drivers unused to such conditions.

"If you see windsocks at a 45-degree angle, be aware that your car might start to swerve," said Mr Denis Lian, 36, Singapore's best-known car racer who drives to the Sepang race track near Kuala Lumpur regularly.

"Vehicles with large side surfaces like MPVs and SUVs (sports utility vehicles) are most susceptible as the side essentially acts as a sail," he explained.

And while straight roads - the first three-quarters of the highway to Kuala Lumpur are so - may be deemed safer than winding or steep ones, AAS' Mr Wong explains that "monotony may kick in and make you lose concentration". Or worse, doze off.

He recommends varying the speeds at which one drives to keep alert and taking a break every two hours.

Yellow signs that mark the start of a speed-trap stretch may also mean the road ahead is likely to be a dangerous spot, hence the indications to slow down.

There is one sign near Kulai, another accident-prone area about 15km from the Causeway. Both Mr Wong and Mr Chua believe accidents happen along this north-bound stretch because Singaporeans may be speeding up after leaving Singapore.

"In Singapore, most drivers are stifled so they take this as a racing track. Some people go above their capability of handling the car, so when they get into trouble, they can't get out of it," said Mr Chua.

Another potentially problematic area is near Seremban. Again, there is nothing unusual about this stretch - which has been expanded from two to three lanes on either side of the dual-carriageway - so driver fatigue may have caused some of the accidents, said Mr Wong.

Seremban is 250km from Singapore and there's more traffic as it is near Kuala Lumpur.

Mr Lian noted that since most of the terrain is flat and wide open on the Singapore-KL stretch, there are also no reference points for drivers to take note of.

"You get lulled into a false sense of security. Even if you drive at 150km, you might actually think it feels quite slow."

So why do Singaporeans get into trouble on the NSE?

Blame it on limited driving skills.

Given that they are used to speeds of 80 to 100km here, they may be out of their league on the NSE where the legal speed limit is 110kmh although many motorists exceed that.

That, coupled with possible poor distance judgment and lack of spatial awareness, can spell disaster.

Driving pundits say Singaporeans do not like checking their mirrors, are prone to road-hogging, do not keep a safe distance and worse, are poor at gauging how fast a car coming up from behind is moving.

So when they overtake a slow-moving vehicle, a car approaching on the right lane may not be able to stop in time.

"The right-most lane is meant for overtaking regardless of whether the highway has two or three lanes, so people shouldn't be driving there as that would encourage others to overtake on the left, which is potentially dangerous," said Mr Chua.

Mr Christopher Quek, 46, of Wheels For Fun, Singapore's pioneer holiday driving organiser, agreed.

"The average Singaporean driver's road sense is quite low because of the conditions we drive in," he said.

Even simple things like keeping oneself hydrated during the trip can make a lot of difference as it can affect judgment and awareness, he said.

Given the growing number of Singaporeans who choose to drive while on holiday in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Malaysia, being equipped with skills to deal with long-distance and high-speed driving under various weather conditions has also become increasingly important.

Singapore driving schools should also help drivers develop proper skills instead of focusing only on passing a driving test, argued the experts.

AAS organises regular forums on safe driving overseas to highlight the dos and don'ts when driving in foreign lands.

Malaysia's Plus Expressways told The Sunday Times that it has installed additional safety features like cable guardrail, road studs and signage with improved visibility to make the highway safer.

It dispatches more than 110 patrolling teams a day and has also installed electronic message boards at strategic locations to provide up-to-date traffic information.

But more important than that perhaps is having good driving ethics and discipline.

At least that got The Sunday Times team back in one piece.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Apr 13, 2008.