Video: Who is at fault in Mazda CX-8 vs motorcyclist Plus Highway emergency lane debacle?

Over the weekend, a Mazda CX-8 earned the wraith of motorcyclists for stopping along the emergency lane of the North-South Highway. The video of the debacle went viral with most netizens condemning the CX-8 for stopping on the emergency lane, however, did you know that everybody in the video is at fault, including the motorcyclists?

But first, why did the CX-8 stop on the emergency lane? According to a report by The Sun, the CX-8 driver was heading northbound from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh on the North-South Highway when his pregnant wife started feeling nauseous.

As a result, the 34-year-old driver pulled over on the emergency lane near Sungkai. But just as they were about to continue their journey, a Toyota Alphard cut into the emergency lane forcing the CX-8 driver to jam on the brakes.

This then caused a chain of events, the first motorcyclist managed to stop in time but he was unfortunately hit by another motorcyclist. A third motorcyclist then collided with the second motorcyclist from behind.

Enraged by the collision, the motorcyclists vented their anger on the CX-8 driver. Muallim police district chief Supt Mohd Hasni Mohd Nassir told The Sun that all three motorcyclists suffered from minor injuries. 

While it might look like the CX-8 driver was at fault here, allow us to point out that everybody in the video is wrong because the law states that no one, not even motorcyclists, is allowed to drive/ ride or stop in the emergency lane.

According to Rule 53(1) of the Road Traffic Rules 1959, road users are not allowed to:

• Drive on the emergency lane
• Tow their cars on the emergency lane
• Push their cars on the emergency lane
• Park their cars on the emergency lane
• Leave their cars on the emergency lane unattended

However, the law is not actively enforced for various reasons, one of them being that allowing motorcyclists to ride along the emergency lane would help ease the heavy traffic on the main lanes.

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On that note, all parties involved in any incidents on the emergency lane can be fined up to RM 2,000 or face a jail sentence of up to six months, or both.

For now, all four vehicles are now investigated under Rule 10 of the Road Traffic Rules 1959 (Rule 10 LN 166/59).

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