KLANG, MALAYSIA: It's tough enough trying to weave through heavy traffic at high speed but now ambulance drivers in the Klang Valley are facing a bigger threat from tailgaters who join in for fun.

Warnings by the police that motorists could be fined RM300 if they tailed or obstructed ambulances, fire engines or VIP motorcades have done little to stop the problem.

It has become so bad that operators like the St John's Ambulance Selangor now provide special training for drivers to avoid tailgaters from crashing into them.

An hour-long drive in one of the ambulances revealed that motorists not only tailgate but some even overtook the ambulance on the Federal Highway.

Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) Selangor deputy chairman C. Venukopalan said the society had six ambulances stationed at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang and recorded at least two accidents every month in the district alone.

The society spent RM29,000 on ambulance repairs in Klang just last year.

"Most are minor accidents which cost less than RM1,000 and this is covered by our vehicle insurance but it still means that the vehicle cannot be used for several days as we end up with jammed doors and broken lights and bumpers.

"Also, in most cases, we cannot stop to get the particulars of the vehicle which knocked into the ambulance due to the critical condition of the patient.

"Many motorists drive away and do not report the accident," said Venukopalan, who is also an ambulance driver.

He said that most of the accidents occurred because the tailgaters followed the ambulances very closely to prevent other vehicles from cutting in.

When ambulances stop at junctions, tailgaters crash into them.

MRCS ambulance medic Noel Silas Savarimuthu said motorists taking up emergency lanes during a traffic jam or crawl posed another obstacle for the ambulances but the bigger problem was motorists who did not seem to know which way to go when an ambulance approached.

"Motorists are supposed to slow down and squeeze together to the left, leaving the fast lane free for us, but often our ambulances are caught when one driver goes to the right and the other to the left."

He also said that when traffic is at a near standstill, vehicles in the fast lane are supposed to edge towards the centre divider while those immediately beside them are supposed to move left to open a passage for the ambulance to move but this too often does not happen.