Idiocy on the road
SO THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) is ordering field trials of camera surveillance systems to catch misbehaving motorists who want to believe they own the road. Splendid - but where does one begin? The list of downright uneducated ways which too many Singaporean car owners exhibit is a long one. Advance publicity on the camera trials says that the LTA is more concerned with spotting technical infractions. Some would be motorists driving in bus lanes, ignoring double yellow lines or illegal 'temporary' parking, often smack by bus bays in busy commercial streets while the owners nip into the shops. It says nothing of the tear-your-hair-out annoyances one encounters every day on the road. Top of the sin list is failing to signal before making a turn, changing lanes or pulling to a road shoulder. Why do they do this? It can't be ignorance of road convention. Is it to save two cents worth
Sun, Jul 29, 2007
The Straits Times
Next on the list would be the habit of weaving dangerously in and out of lanes to slot into the tiniest opening in peak-hour traffic, as if this would get them to their destination any faster. The corollary is not giving way to someone who has signalled a lane change. If the LTA's camera-sleuthing technology is capable of catching these offenders, Singaporean drivers could over time lay claim to having decent road manners. They actually pass muster in most other departments. Make no mistake: failure to signal and lane-weaving are road code violations, citable as dangerous, reckless or careless driving that is liable to cause accidents. Traffic cops, whose presence on the road is nowhere near adequate, should be making an example of these cretins. Responsible drivers don't have to put up with them.