User of our North-South Expressway

The following message was forwarded by Jensen Yeoh to TV3 and The Star to highlight his concern about the road surfaces along Malaysia North-South Expressway.

I think this will be verified if more people know about it, talk about it and write to the relevant statutory board about it. So, here it goes.

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Dear TV3 and The Star,

I am a frequent user of our North-South Expressway and I have this
IMPORTANT experience to highlight and share:-

I was driving back to Penang yesterday afternoon (24 June 08) when I saw
the unfortunate accident in the opposite direction involving the
passenger bus that skidded and overturned at Tanjung Malim. I didn't
know that the skidded bus was from hometown Penang until I watched TV3
news later in the evening and was shocked to learn that the accident
took two lives.

Now, this is what I need to share:-

I am a building contractor with over twenty years of experience and I
have been driving my 5 series BMW (latest generation and a dammed solid
road holding car) each time I travelled to KL. Lately, the new extended
3 lanes highway had been opened up for use and since then, I have also
been using it quite oftenly.

HOWEVER, when I used it each time it is WET, I can really 'feel' that
the new road surface is extremely SLIPPERY! To share with some of you,
my car comes with a built-in traction control mechanism (skidding
prevention
mechanism) and you can feel it each time it is activated. Previously, I
don't come across this kind of slippery feel except when I drive over a
paddle of water at certain speed.

From my observation as a building contractor, the 'wearing course' of
the new road surface could be TOO FINE OR TOO SMOOTH and TOTALLY
UNSUITABLE for highway use!
The wearing course (top premix layer) mix design for highways should be
of minimum 20mm coarse aggregate mix that will give us the required bond
between the surface and our tires. Fine wearing course (14mm coarse
aggregate size and below) is only suitable for normal road. (A proper
test need to be carried out to determine the mix design of the wearing
course).

Since the opening of the three lanes highway, I had seen cars skidding
in front me or in the opposite direction and approximately 2 weeks ago,
one of my friends who is also a frequent user of our NSE, came to share
with me about his slippery feeling as well as the many skidded cars he
had seen lately.

I am highlighting this to TV3 and The Star with the hope that a thorough
investigation could be carried out immediately to find out how or what
causes the bus to skid. A proper and independent test need to be carried
out urgently to determine the design mix of the wearing course. THIS CAN
SAVE LIVES.

FOR THOSE BCC RECIPIENTS, PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS.
IF YOU ARE USING THE NEW LANES AND IF IT IS WET, MAKE SURE YOU DRIVE
SLOWLY!!!!

Regards,

Jensen Yeoh
012-4826163
Penang.

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People already talking about it at:

Slippery when Wet? - Ipoh Community Forums

PLUS/Northsouth highway re-surface? - Yahoo! Answers

Lowyat.NET -> For those who travel on North-South Expressway