If you were a kid in the 1980s with access to gaming consoles, you might have come across an Atari game called Freeway. You play a chicken that struggles to cross a major freeway (i.e., a highway). The freeway is brimmed with heavy traffic. If you have the skills, you get to cross the road safely and get a high score. But if you're unlucky, you get knocked by a car or truck to a lower rung.
That is basically what we see on Malaysian roads every other day. Malaysians and other nationals gamble their lives to cross major roads during heavy traffic. It is understandable if there are no zebra crossings, traffic lights, or overhead bridges. However, people still rush to cross the road, weaving through the heavy traffic, hoping they don't get crushed by the incoming traffic.
Despite there being laws prohibiting jaywalking within 100 metres of designated crossings, which is an offence under the Road Transport Act 1987 and carries a penalty of up to RM500, the lack of enforcement means people still cross the road even when there's a safer way to cross the road.
The danger of crossing a major intersection during heavy traffic isn't lost on the Malaysian public. I remember being in a colleague's car as she drove past the dead body of a foreign worker who decided it was faster to cross the road instead of using the overhead bridge near the Selayang wet market. The traffic slowed down significantly as drivers had to avoid a portion of the road where the dead body lay while waiting to be taken to the morgue.
These jaywalking people are also a nuisance and danger to drivers and motorcyclists. Another time, I had to swerve a bit to avoid a woman who was crossing the road just before the Columbia Asia Hospital at Setapak. She crossed the road even though she literally had an overhead bridge just metres away.
The sad part is that these people are gambling their lives away. The flesh and bones on their frail bodies mean nothing when hit by a barreling car or trailer at high speed. Perhaps they are tempting luck, like the protagonists in the Final Destination movie series. But once they get hit, it is what we call mati katak.
And why did the chicken cross the road again?
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