I came home to Kuala Lumpur (KL) in 2012. A city of 8.8 million people spread over 243km2. I have lived in the city centre since then. First, where the orange star to the right is, and now where the second star is. The pink compass rose marks the geographic centre of KL. The shaded grey area is the Central Business District and the city’s main shopping and nightlife district. I have ridden many kilometres in and around the city centre.
Many of my friends are surprised that I ride so much in KL city centre traffic. “Isn’t it dangerous?” they ask.
The answer is “Yes, you need to be careful.” But not because it is in the city centre. You need to always have your wits about you because of the way some people people drive. Some drivers are impatient. Some drivers misjudge the speed at which cyclists are travelling. Some drivers are distracted by their mobile phones. These behaviours present dangers to cyclists no matter where they are riding.
I will give you some examples. This is a common occurrence. I am within 50 metres of an intersection on my left. A vehicle behind me wants to turn left (1).
What should happen is the vehicle slows down, waits for me to ride past the intersection, and makes the left turn behind me (2).
What often happens is the vehicle overtakes and immediately turns left in front of me. There have been several instances where I have been forced to swerve left to avoid hitting the vehicle turning in front of me (3).
A similar thing often happens with buses approaching a bus stop. Instead of waiting behind me until I have ridden past the bus stop (1) and (2), the bus will overtake me and immediately pull into the bus stop (3).
I consider the above examples of driver impatience. The following examples may be because of misjudgement or distraction, as well as impatience.
In this case, a vehicle is waiting to turn from a side road onto the road that I am on. What should happen is the vehicle waits until I have ridden past before making the turn behind me (1) and (2). What sometimes happens is the vehicle pulls out in front of me and forces me to take evasive action (3).
The same thing has happened to me at roundabouts. Instead of waiting for me to pass (1) and (2), the vehicle enters the roundabout right in front of me (3). There is a misapprehension in KL that the vehicle entering a roundabout has the right of way. In fact, vehicles already on the roundabout have the right of way.
Sometimes the driver makes eye contact so I know I have been seen. I can only assume a combination of impatience and misjudging my moving speed is the reason for pulling out in front of me. Even worse, there have also been times when a driver pulled out in front of me without first looking in my direction.
A more egregious example of impatience or inattention has happened to me at a four-way junction. The vehicle wanting to turn right should wait until I have ridden through the intersection before turning (1) and (2). Instead, I have had vehicles make the right turn across my path in front of me, forcing me to swerve left to avoid a collision.
This next situation happens because the drivers are looking at their mobile phones and not at the road. I know this because instead of (1) and (2) happening, I am forced to the right and alongside the vehicle as the driver pulls onto the roadway without looking behind the vehicle first (3). I see the driver looking at their mobile phone as they pull out to the right.
Another example that is almost certainly because drivers are looking at mobile phones is when vehicles weave to the left and right. It’s not much fun when you are beside the vehicle when it starts to weave.
All this makes it seem that it is dangerous to cycle in KL city centre. It certainly is not 100% safe, but I doubt it is any more dangerous than cycling in any other inner city would be. I ride a lot in the evenings. Cycling during rush hour is probably safer than at any other time. The traffic jams mean that no one is moving faster than I am.
I don’t fear for my well-being whenever I venture onto the city streets. That does not mean I cycle with careless abandon. You must ride smart.
- Activate your front and rear lights.
- Use hand signals early and make sure the road is clear behind you before making turns or crossing lanes.
- Comply with traffic lights and road signs.
- Do not ride in a vehicle’s blind spot.
- Ride on quieter side streets where possible.
- Finally, the key to cycling in any city centre is . . .
Old Roots, New Routes 