KUALA LUMPUR: A motorist who appeared to be annoyed by a long military convoy occupying the fastlane on a highway posted a video of the incident, questioning the justification for the convoy's presence in the speed lane.
The video, posted by a Tik Toker @lensaharta yesterday, showed the driver of a car overtaking the military convoy on the third most left lane while sarcastically criticising the armed forces vehicles for travelling far slower than those in the slow and intermediate lanes.
The driver in the video, who is also seen switching between the slow and middle lanes, is heard questioning if military convoys must use the fast lane.
"Why couldn't they utilise the middle lane since they were going slower than other conventional vehicles on the highway?"
The man also goes on to say that the convoy escorted by military police had caused unnecessary traffic congestion and inconvenience to other fellow motorists by hogging the fast lane.
He also satirised the military convoy by stating that he was unfamiliar with the road rules and regulations for military vehicles and inquired whether there were special laws requiring military assets to use the fast lane while on the road.
This did not sit well with the netizens who condemned the man for his disrespectful comments/remarks in the post.
Within 24 hours after being posted, the video had over 10,000 views and more than 700 comments. The majority of the responses were critical of his impatience and disrespect for the military personnel, with one even making a video response to @lensaharta.
The reply video shared by @boss_sam7i_ck7, who is believed to be in the army, also attracted a lot of attention, with over 14,000 likes and hundreds of shares and comments.
The video, which tagged @lensaharta, appeared to provide an explanation for the convoy using the fast lane.
He defended the actions of the military convoy by stating that using the fast lane prevented the convoy from being disrupted or the "chain from breaking" during travel.
In addition, he said that the unusually large dimensions of some military assets could potentially endanger other motorists in the event that the chain was severed, resulting in an accident.
Furthermore, he highlighted the possibility that certain military vehicles might decelerate abruptly due to the presence of blind spots.
The first video has since been removed but an online portal managed to embed it in this YouTube video.
Here are some of the comments the videos received:
@kamach2518 wrote: "Greetings sirs, I am retired Army and was intrigued to comment when someone asked about Army convoys using the rightmost lane. For your information, the convoy may be on a mission to go to a place of operation or carry out warfare exercises. When having an operation or training, what do you carry or bring? Pots, pans, Kettles? No bro, the vehicle was likely carrying explosives, ammunition, firearms and fuel. It is very dangerous and to do so, to ensure that no accident occurs or safety of others are not compromised in case of an accident.
@fuziahhanim748 wrote: " That is indeed the procedure for the movement of the military truck. We the public have to give way to them because they are carrying important things and they may want to send them to a destination(fast) . I once encountered a convoy like this too but I'm okay.
@mohdyusup4256 wrote: "It's like sitting in a sardine can. I know. I've been a former military vehicle driver for 16 years. That's how we convoy."