1 out of 4 Malaysians are using their smartphones while driving – as if many other things distracting them inside a car isn’t enough.
University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Highway Engineering expert, Associate Professor Mohd. Ezree Abdullah told this when contacted by Bernama.
A driver distracted for 5 to 10 seconds at normal highway speeds is equivalent to turning the car into a runaway vehicle for 160 metres. How far is 160 metres? It’s the distance from the pedestrian crossing outside Suria KLCC and Avenue K to the Jalan Ampang-Jalan P. Ramlee intersection.
Voice calls isn’t the only distraction. There are so many apps to distract drivers such as Waze/GPS, Whatsapp/WeChat, SMS, Facebook and games. Yes, we’ve spotted drivers playing games on their smartphones while driving!
Drivers are think that they are paying attention as long as their eyes are on the road. But how many times have drivers “zoned out” even when they are just driving along?
Remember that a car driver may be distracted by other occupants, his favourite song on the radio, blindspots, an itch in the crotch… etc. etc. etc.
This article is not about blaming car drivers (there are motorcyclists talking on the phone while riding, too!). Instead, we wish to highlight that we should always trust our judgment when we ride and not leave our fates to other road users. We should always mitigate the risks around us by paying attention to “signs” of impending danger, such as the driver ahead is about to stop or switch lanes suddenly.
As such, adhere to traffic laws at all times, including not charging away from the red light!
The factory Yamaha MotoGP squad unveiled their new Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP livery and the 2019 Yamaha YZR-M1.
Monster Energy has taken over from Spanish telecommunications company Movistar as the main sponsor of the team. Hence the new livery consists of more black paint matched to the traditional Yamaha racing blue. The energy drink brand was already sponsoring both Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinalez prior to this.
2019 here we come!@ValeYellow46 and @mvkoficial12 got their #BeastModeOn.#MonsterYamaha | #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/RPzwK3mKO8
— Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP (@YamahaMotoGP) February 4, 2019
Whatever it is, the factory Yamaha team is looking forward to leaping back into contention after a dismal 2018 season. The longest losing streak in the brand’s history was thankfully broken when Vinalez won at Phillip Island.
The dearth of meaningful results even prompted Yamaha’s Project Leader Koiji Tsuya to issue a public apology to the riders, team and fans. He then stepped down last month and replaced by former head of chassis division Takahiro Sumi.
Riders Rossi and Vinalez will finally get to test the new bike during the first Pre-Season Test at the Sepang International Circuit from 6thto 8thFebruary.
“I like it very much – Yamaha is always blue, and the blue of the Yamaha is beautiful, but I like the black of Monster because the colour of my soccer team, Inter, so I feel comfortable.”
“I can’t wait to start, the holidays were already too long,” Vinales said. “I would like to be on the bike. I’m really curious to see the steps forward we did and see if we can push the bike at the maximum already in the first test.”
Boon Siew Honda launched three more models to the Malaysian market today to kick off 2019. They are the Honda Super Cub C125, Honda CB1100RS, Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP.
Being of different segments, the additional models provide Malaysian motorcyclists with even more choices in Honda motorcycles.
Honda started a revolution when they introduced the Super Cub C100 in 1958. The Super Cub has evolved over the last 60 years. By then, it had become the largest-selling motorized vehicle of all time with more than 100 million units sold worldwide.
The Super Cub is now back in the guise of the Super Cub C125.
While its styling is reminiscent of the original Super Cub, the new bike is thoroughly modern.
It is offered in Pearl Niltava Blue, Pearl Nebula Red and Pearl Shining Black.
The CB1100RS harks back to the days when Honda’s inline-Four engines were the king. Specifically, it started with the CB750 in 1969, which was rightfully called “first superbike.”
Since then, Japanese motorcycles with multi-cylinder engines, round headlights, high handlebars, and bench seats became known generically as the UJM for Universal Japanese Motorcycle.
The UJM styling is timeless as Honda continued selling the CB line-up such as the sublime CB 400 Super Four VTEC and later the CB1100 over the years in many markets around the world. Except Malaysia.
Perhaps 2019 is the year to remember with the launch of this bike.
As with its predecessors, the CB1100RS looks like a 70’s bike but it a modern motorcycle in its essence.
It looks like a torquey machine judging from the spread between maximum torque and peak power.
The Honda CB1100RS is available in Darkness Black Metallic and Matt Beta Silver Metallic.
The “SP” version of the CBR1000RR Fireblade brings more fire to the table. It is endowed with more power, less weight and equipped with more technology compared to the “standard” Fireblade.
While other manufacturers kept pushing up the power output of their superbikes, Honda chooses to adhere to their “Next Stage Total Control” philosophies. You could say “What’s power without control?”
The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP is offered in HRC Tricolor only (no Repsol thank you very much!).
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