April 23 - 29 is the United Nations Global Road Safety Week. I am pleasantly surprised to read the articles in the Sunday Times about how the Traffic Police tackles the road safety for motorcyclists. Motorcyclist fatalities contributed significantly to the total fatalities in 2006. The article describes how the Uncles and Aunties may pull the speeding and wreckless motorcyclists over and give them a lecture on Road Safety instead of issuing them a summon. The guilty motorcyclists should realize that the law enforcers are concerned about their well-being and do not want to have more dead bodies on the road.
I have personally observed that LTA and Traffic Police have changed their approach in improving Road Safety through one example of one accident black spot - barrier was set up along the road divider at Boon Lay Way some years back to block pedestrians going between Jurong East MRT/Bus Interchange and IMM Shopping Mall. The intention is to encourage more pedestrians to use a nearby overhead bridge. However, one has to go away from the direction of IMM to cross the bridge and thus, take a much longer walk. I then started seeing many pedestrians climbing over the barrier and some had even landed onto the edge of the road after they jumped over the barrier, resulting in some very scary moments for themselves and approaching motorists. Some months back, LTA finally installed a traffic light at that point and made an opening in the barrier - I applaude the new approach even though my drive may be interrupted by yet another traffic light along Boon Lay Way.
Pedestrians should be patient to wait for the “green man” signal to come on before they cross the road. The new problem that I notice at that black spot is that impatient pedestrians would just dash across when possible and ignorant followers are surprised by fast approaching vehicles. Thus, I would always slow down when approaching traffic signals even though it is green in my favour.
Drive safely, not just this week, but all the time in your motoring life!
(Originally posted on WordPress blog on April 22, 2007)
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