Types of road users

I've been driving for around a month already, but even before then I had already noticed a lot of different types of road users. Today I had a bad experience with an impatient, bad tempered bastard who didn't like me because I had slowed down to let another car pass.


LEARNERS
In Malaysia, learners drive around in Perodua Kancils and Vivas that are completely plastered with L stickers. You can't miss 'em, and it's best if you didn't honk at them or follow too close behind, especially on a slope.

Kancils are manual cars, and the learners who haven't completely grasped the "clutch position" will be likely to have a car that's rolling backwards with a roaring engine. Try not to make them panic, because they tend to. Why? The Kancil (and Viva) are extremely small cars, smaller than the Suzuki Swift. Driving that kind of car while large sedans rev past you is pretty intimidating.


"I JUST GOT MY LICENCE" TYPE 1 (PROBATIONAL DRIVERS)
These people drive slowly and steadily, and are pretty much indecisive. They might scare the living daylights out of you with learner-type driving skills. In essence, they're taking the Chinese verb "the road is like the mouth of a tiger" literally - it's extremely dangerous.

This type of driver is usually at the earlier stage of the "I just got my licence" period, which means that it's been a maximum of 2-3 months since they obtained their licence.


"I JUST GOT MY LICENCE" TYPE 2 (PROBATIONAL DRIVERS)
After that 2-3 month period of constant driving, these drivers have already had a general feel of the road and drives with more confidence and commits less mistakes than the Type 1 drivers.

However, occasional switch-ups (like a "dying engine" for manual car drivers like me) are to be expected.


REGULAR DRIVERS
They obey the rules, they drive steadily within the speed limit, they make use of signal lights, all those goody-two-shoes.


EXPERIENCED DRIVERS
These guys are a level above regular drivers - they speed, they drive like pros, but they know how to avoid accident-prone situations. Examples of these people? My dad. Jasmine's dad.


RECKLESS DRIVERS
I would say these guys just like the adrenaline rush that comes with speed. They drive like the wind, and will snake through the lanes to be ahead.


IMPATIENT DRIVERS
This is the type of driver that I encountered earlier today. I was letting another car pass while slowing down, and this driver (drives a 100Plus van) honks at me for not moving.


DOWNRIGHT ASSHOLES
I apologize for the language. Now combine reckless and impatient, and you will have the assholes. Again, with that driver I encountered today. I moved after I had let that car pass, but then that van had to drive up right beside me, almost touching my side mirror.

The assholes will curse and honk at you for driving slowly, then after they've overtaken you, they'll do something to scare you.


MOTORCYCLISTS
They weave through traffic without a thought, and expect you to avoid them. If you stop at a traffic light, you will have a giant cloud of motorcyclists right at the front, and they like to have their feet sticking out, so if you didn't gauge your distance from them properly you might just roll over their feet.


"MAT REMPIT"S
The "mat rempit" is a motorcyclist (usually a young one) who does stunts on their motorcycles on highways. They usually travel in gangs, and are a threat to life on the road. I've only encountered them once, and it was scary enough - we were driving down to Singapore, and suddenly an entire gang revved by. I was advised to not make eye contact and mind my own business.

Further down the road at a petrol station, I realized how many of them there were - almost 50 of them.


COMMERCIAL VEHICLES (MEDIUM)
Here I'm talking about the regular trucks and smaller sized lorries. Manual, and quite large, they will drive right up behind you and will drive on the middle and/or the overtaking lane. And they drive around 10-20km/h slower than the average car.


COMMERCIAL VEHICLES (LARGE)
They're basically the same as the medium one's, but if you're going uphill, be ready for a world of slow. And also the drivers tend to be smoking/drinking/talking on the phone/doing something else other than concentrating on driving, so they might swerve toward you every once in a while.


COMMERCIAL VEHICLES (LONG & SUPER TANKER BIG)
If you're a new driver, they will scare the living bejesus out of you. They're a combination of large CV and experienced drivers. Experienced as they are, they still scare the heck out of you. They're like 10 times bigger and heavier than you own car, with almost as many wheels, and they always give you that scary feeling that Final Destination 2 is gonna happen.


OLD DRIVERS
Whether the driver is old, or the car is old, or both. These people CRAWL. Literally. I think it would take them around half an hour to reach a place that takes only a 15 minute drive.


Forgive me if my recent posts are boring, I'm basically stuck at home with not much of a BF. I've too much time on my hands without enough things to do. Lalala~ Meanwhile, please enjoy this GIF of Nyan Cat.