Let’s be honest, most drivers like to speed on the road, whether consciously or not. Be it you are rushing for a meeting, getting late for a movie or if the road is clear, none of these are good reasons for any of us to speed! Why, you asked? Cause speeding is really bad for your car!
1. Running over potholes and speed bumps
In Malaysia, potholes are very common due to under-maintained roads. You will most definitely run into one, if not a couple, wherever you are heading to! These potholes are major road hazards that can damage your car tyres, suspension and other parts of your car. The impact is even worse if you are driving at high speed! It will be harder and more dangerous to avoid these potholes while driving too fast, so you get the picture.
Speed bumps are also common in residential areas or roads with high chance of accidents. These are laid out to slow cars down due to high risk to road users in that particular area. Similarly, driving too fast over any speed bumps will damage not only your car, you might lose control of your car and increase the risk of a car accident!
2. Severe wear and damage to the brakes
Driving at higher speed will naturally mean that you will need to hit the brakes more often for sudden brakes. Constantly doing so will put a lot of strain on the braking system, wearing out the brake pads and discs. This will lead to the need to repair the braking system before your car is fit to be driven again on the road.
3. Putting strain on the car engine
Rapid acceleration of your car can lead to general wear and tear of the components within the car engine. This will lead to an increased likelihood of a fault or engine failure, and can be very costly to get it replaced before your car is road worthy again.
It is particularly bad to overwork the engine as soon as you start driving in colder weather such as rainy days. The oil within the engine will be less effective in circulating around components to provide the required lubrication when it has not been ‘warmed up’ yet. Poorly lubricated components will definitely wear out much faster, so replacements will be required very soon.
4. Risk of running into road obstacles
Not only driving fast can hurt your car from the inside, it may also lead to potentially severe and irreversible external damage! Most roads in Malaysia are not entirely clear and conducive for speeding, even on the highway. On regular roads, there will be people crossing the road and generally occupied with other cars as well. On the highway, you may run into wild animals or even lingering cones and worn out lorry tyres!
While speeding, you might not be able to brake in time. When that happens, you run the risk of colliding with another car or any other stationary objects on the road. This will have many severe implications to both your car and other road users’ safety.
If you have the bad habit of speeding, think twice! Speed limits are set for good reasons and should be adhered to at all times while driving on the road! Whether it is for your car, your own safety and/ or the general safety of every other road user, be a responsible driver and stop speeding today!