KUALA LUMPUR: Pedestrian crossings are meant to keep those who travel on foot safe, but many feel that drivers tend to ignore a person's right to cross.
A post on the r/malaysia thread on the Reddit.com discussion social media platform, highlighted the dangers of using traffic light pedestrian crossings on Jalan Pinang and Jalan P. Ramlee here.
The writer complained that many motorists did not follow traffic light rules, viewing them merely as "suggestions".
The writer said during rush hour, drivers tended to run the red light and ignore the signal for pedestrians to cross.
The New Straits Times investigated these claims and found many motorists, whether on two wheels or four, ignoring traffic rules at pedestrian crossings.
Muhd Nazri Abdullah, 55, said vehicles would proceed even though the lights had turned green for pedestrians to walk.
"KL drivers seem not to care about crossings for pedestrians and just drive through.
"The law states that motorists must stop when the traffic light turns red, but these drivers choose to ignore it."
Nazri said pedestrians would have to wait between seven and 10 minutes at the crossings before it was safe to cross.
Some pedestrians claim that the crossing on Persiaran KLCC was "useless" as the lights would take a long time to turn green even after pushing the button.
Designer Sharaza Kamarul Atta, 41, who works at Menara Felda, said many drivers did not heed the traffic signal to allow pedestrians to cross.
"The motorists are selfish. They want to get to their destination quickly, which creates a hostile environment for pedestrians."
She said pedestrians would have to flout traffic laws and risk their safety by crossing the road when they are not supposed to do so.
Information technology executive Christopher Liew, 32, said most traffic lights in Kuala Lumpur did not give sufficient time for pedestrians to get to the other side of the road.
"By the time you're halfway across, you often have only five seconds left, so you'll need to run to make it across in time.
"This doesn't even consider drivers who completely disregard pedestrian crossing signals, making it even harder for people to cross safely within the allotted time," he said.
Shah Alam resident Ridznal Nazly, 20, said drivers were becoming increasingly reckless in disregarding pedestrians.
"Cars would still drive through even though their drivers see me at the zebra crossing.
"I hope the authorities can tighten the laws. If possible, deploy more enforcement officers at pedestrian hotspots. Drivers need to know that pedestrians are also road users," he said.
Checks at Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfields, here, found that pedestrians, too, flout traffic rules, often crossing the road through traffic instead of using the overhead bridge.
Meenachy Selvaraj, 58, from Cheras, said although there were no zebra crossings in the area, most people would choose to cross the road instead of using the bridge to get to the other side.
"Pedestrians should follow the rules. If they are hit (by vehicles), it is their fault because there is already a pedestrian bridge provided," she added.