starscream
11-07-2005, 05:12 PM
July 11, 2005
ROAD RAGE
Lost sight of humanity in drive to do well?
I READ the report, 'The road to rage' (ST, July 6).
Having lived and travelled extensively overseas, I can attest that my fellow Singaporean drivers and riders are the worst. Many of them use the roads with total disregard for the safety of other road users. Over the last 18 months, I have been living in Jakarta.
Anyone who has been there would know that the traffic is heavy during peak hours and the roads are congested. Sometimes, it is total mayhem. But despite all the chaos, drivers are polite and allow others to overtake them. No rude gestures, no hurling of vulgarities, no sounding of the horn and no staring at each other.
Maybe it is in their nature or maybe they have accepted the fact that rushing is not going to get you out of the jam any faster, and getting angry is not worth it.
In Singapore, it will be hard to find such drivers. We may be living in a most modern city but our behaviour is primitive.
Try to signal that you are changing lanes and you will suddenly find cars speeding up from behind to block you. It's like them telling you: 'How dare you cut into my space?' Even at pedestrian crossings, it is not uncommon to see drivers not giving way to pedestrians or driving on even before people have crossed the road. I have even seen inconsiderate drivers cutting right across the path of young children at pedestrian crossings, endangering their lives.
Canadian drivers are probably the best in the world and I think we can learn a lot from them. The Canadians have no courtesy campaigns to get them to be courteous and drive safely. They have no fines either. It comes right from their heart.
During a trip to Toronto last year, I was standing at a road junction waiting to cross. A car came up and stopped at the junction. I looked at him and waited for him to move on. He looked at me and waved at me to cross. I looked backed at him and waved at him to move on. Instead, he waved back at me to cross first. We must have done this three or four times before I realised I had the right of way and he was waiting for me to cross.
This is not an isolated incident.
At every traffic junction in busy streets and quiet roads, this scene is repeated. Drive near a school zone and you will find drivers automatically slowing down their vehicles and watching out for kids. If a school bus stops in front of their vehicles for children to alight or board, they would stop behind the bus and wait for it to move.
In our drive to do well economically, have we lost sight of what is human and humane? How different are we from wild animals which mark their space and chase away intruders?
In carparks, it is not rare to see a driver taking his time to move his car out of a lot when he notices someone waiting for that space. Neighbours take one another to court over trivial matters such as water from washing cars overflowing to their side of the fence.
It is about time we learnt to take life a little easier, to laugh a little more and to give way to others. It is about time we took control of our behaviour without recourse to campaigns and fines.
It is about time we learnt to be human again.
ROAD RAGE
Lost sight of humanity in drive to do well?
I READ the report, 'The road to rage' (ST, July 6).
Having lived and travelled extensively overseas, I can attest that my fellow Singaporean drivers and riders are the worst. Many of them use the roads with total disregard for the safety of other road users. Over the last 18 months, I have been living in Jakarta.
Anyone who has been there would know that the traffic is heavy during peak hours and the roads are congested. Sometimes, it is total mayhem. But despite all the chaos, drivers are polite and allow others to overtake them. No rude gestures, no hurling of vulgarities, no sounding of the horn and no staring at each other.
Maybe it is in their nature or maybe they have accepted the fact that rushing is not going to get you out of the jam any faster, and getting angry is not worth it.
In Singapore, it will be hard to find such drivers. We may be living in a most modern city but our behaviour is primitive.
Try to signal that you are changing lanes and you will suddenly find cars speeding up from behind to block you. It's like them telling you: 'How dare you cut into my space?' Even at pedestrian crossings, it is not uncommon to see drivers not giving way to pedestrians or driving on even before people have crossed the road. I have even seen inconsiderate drivers cutting right across the path of young children at pedestrian crossings, endangering their lives.
Canadian drivers are probably the best in the world and I think we can learn a lot from them. The Canadians have no courtesy campaigns to get them to be courteous and drive safely. They have no fines either. It comes right from their heart.
During a trip to Toronto last year, I was standing at a road junction waiting to cross. A car came up and stopped at the junction. I looked at him and waited for him to move on. He looked at me and waved at me to cross. I looked backed at him and waved at him to move on. Instead, he waved back at me to cross first. We must have done this three or four times before I realised I had the right of way and he was waiting for me to cross.
This is not an isolated incident.
At every traffic junction in busy streets and quiet roads, this scene is repeated. Drive near a school zone and you will find drivers automatically slowing down their vehicles and watching out for kids. If a school bus stops in front of their vehicles for children to alight or board, they would stop behind the bus and wait for it to move.
In our drive to do well economically, have we lost sight of what is human and humane? How different are we from wild animals which mark their space and chase away intruders?
In carparks, it is not rare to see a driver taking his time to move his car out of a lot when he notices someone waiting for that space. Neighbours take one another to court over trivial matters such as water from washing cars overflowing to their side of the fence.
It is about time we learnt to take life a little easier, to laugh a little more and to give way to others. It is about time we took control of our behaviour without recourse to campaigns and fines.
It is about time we learnt to be human again.