...into paying for being in a massive traffic jam.
Last night, coming back from KL at around 7.30pm, we passed Slim River interchange and saw the northbound double lanes being changed to two-way traffic flow. First impression was an accident but drawing closer, we could see two vertical structures, which looked like tall cranes on the southbound side.
As we passed the obstruction, we could not make out what was going on. We saw between two tall structures was one similar structure, which was horizontal, either on the road or on a huge low-loader. Nearby were at least two low-loaders and other vehicles. We guessed the structures were about to be loaded onto the low-loaders and they occupied the whole width of the southbound lanes.
The diversion which slowed down southbound vehicles considerably caused a massive jam. According to my estimate it was 12km long, from km 368 to km 356 or almost from Slim River interchange to Bidor interchange!
As usual, I pitied those unsuspecting motorists, who joined the queue and got stuck for a long wait and a crawl, at the end of which they had to pay the same tolls regardless. Just imagine among those, there could have been people rushing to go to KLIA, or even sickly people, or even people who had full bladders just wanting to piss!
Please! People in charge of Plus, do something about the necessary warnings to prevent motorists from being conned into paying tolls despite being in a massive jam!
Agreed, as I am one of the trapped users of the route last night. They (PLUS) should really gave discount to those affected users. 3 long hours of nothing. *Sigh..
ReplyDeleteThanks Rashdan.
ReplyDeleteHaving read The Star this morning, the fact that the incident happened since Saturday midnight meant a total of 19 hours by the time I passed by – just imagine the number of vehicles which went through the long wait.
If Plus had in place those electronic signs along the NSE, any obstruction could be notified to oncoming vehicles and it is up to the drivers to decide whether or not to take an alternative route. In this case, the interchange before Slim River is Bidor. Even without electronic signs, Plus’s Rhonda team could have initiated the warning (that is, if the company had the policy in the first place). A generous 10-hour lead time to confirm and warn about the situation would have saved those who joined since.
In fact, drivers could be advised to take the trunk road and rejoin at Slim River interchange. The loss in earnings in terms of toll charges from Bidor to Slim River is definitely worth the gain in terms of good public relations.