I wish to respond to the open letter from the managing
director of Perodua that was recently published.
I am currently driving a Myvi my daughter bought 2 years ago. When the
Kembara was launched in 1998, I purchased a unit for her use.
Before that, when the Kancil was launched, I had ordered a unit for the
car rental company that I was attached with.
I have worked for several car rental companies and have bought over a
thousand cars and enjoyed fleet discounts.
I studied automobile engineering and have worked in the 3S (Sales,
Service & Spares) of the motor industry.
I wish to make only one proposal, as it is more valuable than all
the other stories and suggestions that I could possibly put together. It
will give Perodua the opportunity to lead the world, and be the first motor
vehicle manufacturer to incorporate a passive safety feature by connecting the
horns to the headlights.
The device can be just a piece of wire and a
little more by adding a relay, so that the headlights will
automatically flash whenever the horn is activated.
It is a well-known fact that, often, a split second spells the
difference between a collision and a narrow escape.
Just before accidents, many drivers would hit the horn button;
step hard on the brake pedal and swerve the steering wheel in a bid to avoid
a collision.
On many occasions, the other party will not take corrective
action as he or she will not be alerted to the danger until it is too late.
The horn is hardly audible on raining nights, but flashing
headlights will be noticed from a far greater distance.
Some drivers turn up their stereo full blast, and pedestrians
on noisy streets can be indifferent to the surrounding sounds, and some people
may actually be hard of hearing.
Perhaps globally, hundreds of lives can be saved and thousands
of injuries prevented each year if the horns are connected to the headlights of
all motor vehicles.
Motor manufacturers are likely to overlook simple but great ideas in
their eagerness to introduce the latest technologies. Perodua can choose to
make the difference.
YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur
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