Inconsiderate Drivers of the Week: Episode 29

(Photo Credit: ROADS.sg Facebook Page)

In this episode of Inconsiderate Drivers of the Week, we feature a big-picture view of the incident with the Nam Ho van driver, a couple of motorcyclists crashing into cars and a car driving on the road shoulder.

In this weekly feature, we'll be taking a look at drivers who were caught on camera for their inconsiderate and reckless driving. These drivers exhibit poor driving etiquette, and we hope you never emulate their behaviour on the roads.

1) New Video Emerged Showing Another Side to the Road-Raging Nam Ho Van Driver Story

There are always two sides to every story, and that includes incidents of road rage. Incidents of road raging drivers usually don’t pop up out of thin air, there is usually an event prior to the incident that the dashboard camera did not capture. The viral road rage incident involving a Nam Ho DMC van driver is no exception.

This video shows a big-picture view of the incident. Previously, the video making the rounds came from the dashboard cam of the SUV, the car which was made out to be a victim of a road-bully. However, the video above from a following car tells a different story.

This video tells the story of both drivers engaging in dangerous driving on the expressway, unnecessary braking, cutting in front of each other and across a chevron marking, among other things.

Although it could still be argued that this video still doesn’t show the complete story, thanks to this dashboard camera footage, we got to see a bigger, unbiased view of the incident as compared to just having the footage from the SUV in the incident.

2) White Toyota Camry Drives on Expressway Road Shoulder

When we drive, we all want to get to our destination as quickly as possible, that’s a given. But we should all do that in the safest possible way. When you are stuck in a jam on an expressway, chances are, the drivers around you are just as frustrated as you and just want to reach their destinations as quickly as possible, like you.

The video above shows a jam on a bridge, presumably, on an expressway. Traffic is stationary, and only motorcycles are able to breeze through by riding on the lane divider. Suddenly, a white Toyota Camry appears from the left, driving on the road shoulder, which is an offence to drive on.

Road shoulders are reserved only for emergencies only and for emergency vehicles to drive on in the event of heavy traffic. While it was clear that the driver was in the wrong as he or she committed a traffic offence, social media was split on whether the video should have been posted on social media, shaming the car and culprit.

A debate erupted in the comment section on whether the driver was truly in some sort of emergency and whether he or she deserved to be shamed on social media over, some might consider, a “minor” traffic offence. There was also some discussion on whether it was the owner of the car driving at that time, and whether the car plate should be blurred when such videos are posted online given the chance that the driver might not be the owner.

We here would like to weigh in on this with a simple reasoning. No one has any reason to be afraid of being shamed or put down on social media when they behave reasonably on the roads and do not commit any traffic offences. There have even been cases where the so-called culprit in the video was greatly defended by netizens who found fault in the other party.

In terms of blurring the car plate, we believe that it acts as a deterrence when the car plate is shown. Thus, inconsiderate drivers have something to fear when they act unjustly on the roads, knowing that they can easily be identified. We believe that it does more good than harm when the car plate is shown in the video.

3) Audi Driver Makes Discretionary Right Turn, Has Accident with Motorcycle

Accidents due to a vehicle making a bad judgement call while performing a discretionary right turn, that is one of the most common accidents on our roads. On top of that, it seems that until the authorities install green light right-turn arrows at every traffic junction, it is a problem that is likely to never go away.

In this video, an Audi Q2 driver is at a traffic junction, waiting for their turn and chance to turn right at their discretion, while traffic was still flowing opposite. When the Audi driver decides to move off, a motorcycle comes into the view and both parties were unable to react in time.

The motorcyclist crashes into the Audi with considerable force. The motorcyclist is seen being spun and thrown off his bike, with bits and pieces falling off the motorcycle. The motorcyclist was then seen lying on the floor, unable to get up immediately after the accident.

4) Motorcyclist Loses Control on Expressway and Crashes into a Car

We cannot emphasise how important it is to stay alert while on the roads. While driving or riding a motorcycle, you need to remain prepared for any impending dangers ahead, especially motorcyclists, who are less stable and offered less protection in an accident compared to a car.

In this video, we can see slow-moving traffic on an expressway. Ahead of the camera car is a white car, both on the first lane. As usual, the motorcyclists are able to escape the heavy traffic by riding on the lane divider, which in this case, dividing the first and second lane.

Suddenly, as a motorcyclist was passing the white car, the motorcycle suddenly starts to lean right and crashes into the white car. After hitting the car, the motorcyclist loses control and falls onto the ground.

5) Motorcyclist Crashes into a Car After Trying to Squeeze In-Between Two Cars on the Expressway

This is another case of a motorcycle crashing into a car, this time, due to two motorcyclists thinking that they could squeeze a tight space in-between two cars.

In this video, the camera car was on the first lane of an expressway, amidst traffic that was building up ahead. It is unclear from the camera angles, but from resulted, we suspect that the space between the camera car in lane one and the car directly next to it in lane two was quite small.

But for some reason, two motorcyclists, one directly behind the other, still thought there was still enough space to just squeeze through. What followed was the first motorcyclist clipping the camera car and got thrown off his motorcycle a few metres ahead. The second motorcyclist appears to have crashed into the side of the camera car and fell down there and then.

The purpose of this compilation isn’t to shame or expose these drivers, but to learn from their mistakes. In all honesty, the driving culture in Singapore leaves a lot to be desired. We lack basic road courtesy and we don’t mind causing inconveniences to other road users if it benefits us. We sometimes even put their lives at risks with our careless and nonchalant driving.

To improve our driving culture, we need to look ourselves in the mirror and learn to share our roads. Instead of treating fellow motorists as competition, we need to remember that every other road user is just like us—all they want is to reach their destination safely and on time.

Read more: Inconsiderate Drivers of the Week: Episode 28

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