When RM300 Is A Small Price To Pay For The Things That Did Not Happen

Of course RM300 is a huge amount to spent on nothing, but considering the things that did not happen to me recently, it is not a big price to pay.

Foul mood and late to work

To cut the short story shorter, I was driving and was already late to work, and was somehow in a foul mood.

Things went on okay in spite of the foul day, until I reached a traffic-lighted intersection where I was to turn right to take the main road towards office. From 50 metres I saw the lights turning yellow and as I was just about to make the turn, they turned red.

But it was too late to stop the momentum of the heavy 4WD truck so I floored the accelerator instead as I swung the steering wheel to the right.

On a collision course

To my horror, the motorcycles on the opposite side of the road had also begun to race forward.

And going by the looked of it, we were set for a nasty collision -- me on a 4WD truck travelling perhaps at 70km per hour on the 90 degrees turn, against a dozen or so motorcycles which had just raced forward, the way they always did when the lights turned green.

There was no turning back now, for me or for the motorcycles. In a desperate attempt to avoid a crash, I stepped on the brake pedal but decided to let it go as I was losing control of the truck and it might overturn if I forced it to stop.

Reaction time

Thankfully there was still a small distance left between me and the two-wheelers to allow for a quick reaction time on the part of the motorcyclists, and magically, they slowed down and let me pass, no doubt with their high pitch horns blaring in unison.

With my heart pounding, I continued with the journey, pledging never -- ever -- do such a stupid thing again.

Didn't you see the lights?

But that was not the end of the story. A traffic policeman apparently witnessed the whole incident. He caught up with me and signalled me to pull over, and promptly issued the summon.

I was still shivering when he handed over the piece of paper.

I could almost see and hear the image and sound of a collision -- the sound of motorcycles crushing under the truck, of helmets smashing by the side windows, of ribs cracking as the truck runs over the fallen riders, of dozens or so bodies lying on the ground with limbs twisted at awkward angles, of children riding pillion thrown to the roadside from the impact of the collision... of everything, in slow-motion, thus amplifying the details of the impact.

Grateful for the RM300

I accepted the summon without a single word. The next day, I paid a total of RM300 -- the maximum fine for such an offence -- at the Kajang Traffic office.

A man who had just paid his summon saw me handing over the RM300 and told me I could have appealed for a reduction.

I told him I would pay the maximum amount. I did not tell him I was just too grateful for the things that did not happen on that fateful afternoon.

The RM300 is a small price to pay indeed.