Commentary: It’s not your ‘grandfather’s road’

SINGAPORE: Several recent road accidents have garnered a considerable amount of public attention and rightfully so.

One resulted in the death of a 19-year-old university student after the taxi she was in collided with a car.

This accident even prompted netizens to start a petition to the LTA to disallow discretionary turning when the traffic light is in motorists’ favour, given the growth in sizes of junctions

The other involved a lorry that had mounted a kerb, collided into railings before “surging forward” and hitting three pedestrians and a stationary bus outside Yio Chu Kang bus interchange.

The three pedestrians died.

The lorry driver has since been charged with dangerous driving causing death and could be jailed for up to five years if he is convicted.

This drew the ire of netizens who overwhelming commented that the penalty is too light.

Indeed, harsher punishments and a relook at traffic rules might be in order.

But one other issue to consider is the fact that our attitudes go a long way to determine our behaviour on the roads.  

MESSAGES DON’T SEEM TO STICK

We often express deep sorrow when the stories of victims of road accidents make the news.

We express horror at recklessness on the roads and proceed to condemn those responsible.

But many of us also go out on the roads thereafter and continue with reckless behaviour or take safety for granted.

For several years, online forums have been peppered with stories of our questionable driving habits.

Road hogging, tailgating, not signalling when changing lanes, speeding, being distracted while driving, engaging in brinkmanship, refusing to give way to other vehicles – the list seems interminable. 

Sometimes, it is a case of poor etiquette. 

For example, there are still reports of drivers not yielding even for ambulances and fire trucks. 

Social media communities dedicated to disseminating videos of bad driving etiquette and and fatal road accidents have emerged.

With footage that shows the impact of recklessness in sometimes graphic fashion, the hope is that these would drive home the message of road safety more effectively. 

But sometimes, all this does is bring on a few moments of reflection after which caution is thrown to the wind once again as we fall back into contending with others on our roads.

ALL USERS ARE RESPONSIBLE

Several surveys have shown that road users generally perceive their fellow drivers to be aggressive and impatient.   

It’s not just drivers who seem to have issues.

Recently the Traffic Police (TP) revealed that every month, they encounter about 800 cases of not just drivers, but passengers too who fail to belt up in a flagrant violation of the law.

Taxi drivers tell me that sometimes getting their passengers to belt up is akin to pulling teeth.

Those who refuse to do so say they worry that the seat belt would ruin their clothes.

This is in spite of the fines associated with not belting up and the driver attempting to point out to them that pristine clothing is not going to serve them in a serious accident.

Many cabbies also complain of customers who pressure them to speed.

Others point out that with so many people having developed an unhealthy attachment to their phones, distracted pedestrians are increasingly becoming a problem.

What about private hire car drivers? Many claim they seem unusually distracted by navigation systems on their phones, a problem that could be easily fixed if they made an effort to familiarise themselves with routes and exercised some sensibility when choosing their moments to refer to their phones. 

These days, reckless users of bicycles and personal mobility devices are also complicating matters on not just roads, but footpaths as well.

Safety is a serious issue so why don’t we treat it as such?

DO WE NEED EVEN MORE MEASURES?

TP statistics show that last year, roads were safer compared to the year before. There were fewer road traffic accidents. The number of fatal accidents and fatalities fell to an all-time low. There were also fewer accidents related to drink-driving, speeding and red-light running.

However, recent cases have demonstrated yet again that even one accident is one too many.

To inculcate good driving and riding behaviour, the TP has introduced simulation training to allow learner motorists to practise defensive driving and riding.

Next year, simulation training will be made compulsory for all learner motorists.

The TP’s Online Learning Portal also provides existing and learner motorists with the ability to access traffic rules and other useful information.

Other measures include The Safe Driving Course which was introduced in November 2015. It’s a voluntary programme for motorists who have accumulated half of the maximum allowable demerit points before getting a suspension, to improve their driving behaviour.

Aside from educational initiatives, enforcement action in some areas has been stepped up.

Among the measures introduced in recent years are portable speed laser cameras which are battery operated and can be deployed within a week and new cameras that record the time a vehicle takes to travel between two points hence gauging speeding behaviour more accurately.  

Many drivers tell me that these measures help, but there’s nothing like more police presence on the roads to keep drivers in check.

Others have said another key issue is getting newcomers to Singapore to adapt to the road culture here and respect safety and rules.

Perhaps conditions for license conversion need to be more stringent.

While licences for heavy vehicles cannot be converted and one must enrol in a driving school and pass driving tests before one can drive such vehicles here, heavy vehicle drivers are also disproportionately represented in traffic accident statistics.

Being paid on a per-trip basis influences some of them to speed, so some experts have called for a change to their remuneration terms.

Certainly, making some concrete changes could influence behaviour.

But this raises another issue – the inordinate amount of finger pointing that ensues when heavy vehicle accidents are reported.

Bearing in mind their larger mass and blind spots, shouldn’t we consider our own behaviour in the traffic dynamic where it concerns such vehicles and for that matter, others too?

NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER’S ROAD

Individual attitudes are a key predictor of behaviour so perhaps it’s time to reflect.

The Use Your Roadsense movement was launched in 2015 by TP.

Its aim was to spark self-reflection, raise empathy and respect for other road users.

Through social media and engagement sessions, the hope that highlighting the importance of road safety and illustrating what fellow road users experience when we are reckless will have a positive impact on our psyche and behaviour.

Many are often sceptical about such efforts and say that nothing short of extremely harsh penalties or a close shave would change behaviour for the better.

But let’s not wait until then.

Perhaps regular mandatory refresher courses for existing drivers would go further to improve the awareness of and attitudes towards road safety. 

Some might say road safety should be a matter of common sense and even if you don’t care for the safety of others, enlightened self-interest should stimulate positive behaviour.

The roads are not the place to be reckless, impatient or to show others who’s boss.

But many observe that road users, including pedestrians, often seem to be irrationally overcome by an illusion of invincibility and act like they own the roads.

Many only behave if they think they might be caught by cameras or TP officers on the roads. 

Suggestions such as more police visibility, a relook at traffic rules, traffic light design and harsher penalties for traffic offences might help, but perhaps one key solution is as simple as realising that we are not invincible and that whichever road we’re on is not our “grandfather’s road”.

Bharati Jagdish is the host of Channel NewsAsia Digital News’ hard-hitting On The Record, a weekly interview with thought leaders across Singapore, and The Pulse, Channel NewsAsia’s weekly podcast that discusses the hottest issues of the week.