A family travelling home after attending a wedding event had a serious accident when their car hit a water buffalo which then landed on the car. The accident, reported in Oriental Daily, occurred in Semerak, Kelantan.
According to the news report, the family in the car consisted of the father, mother and three children. The father who was driving, had difficulty seeing the road ahead probably due to the poorly lit conditions at 11 pm at night. He therefore did not notice the water buffalo standing in the middle of the road until it was too late and hit it.
The collision caused the heavy animal to be lifted up and amazingly, it landed on the rear section of the car, a Volkswagen. The impact caused the glass to break and although the children in the back seat escaped serious injuries, their mother was not as lucky and fell unconscious. She was admitted to the hospital in Kupang Kerang where she was placed in the Intensive Care Unit.
The condition of the water buffalo was not known although a picture shows that it was still on top of the car when it was taken away. The police say that they are investigating the case under Section 43(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for reckless driving and causing accidents.
Similar accidents in 60 years ago
This type of accident used to occur in the 1960s along the Slim River highway when it was the country’s first tolled highway. 20 years later, in the 1980s, when the first sections of the North-South Expressway opened, there was also reports of collisions with animals. Cows would wander onto the highway to sleep as the surface of the road was warm at night. They were obviously a dangerous hazard and motorists sometimes hit them, sending them onto the bonnet.
However, the toll concessionaires took more precautions and put up proper fencing along the sides so that animals would not wander onto the highway. This ended the dangers although it can still happen on some rural roads which are poorly lit so always be alert and use headlight high beams when possible.
However, you should also be considerate to drivers in vehicles coming towards you. The high beam would dazzle them and could also be dangerous as they may be blinded and not see properly ahead. More and more of the newer models, including those from Perodua, come with an Auto High Beam which will automatically switch to low beam if an approaching vehicle is detected.
