Cars whizzed by on North Bridge Road when this reporter spotted a shock of silver hair.
The elderly woman was frantically shuffling across the busy road, clutching her handbag with both arms.
Cars would slow down but many would pass her with just metres to spare.
She was not alone. In just 30 minutes, The New Paper saw at least 10 elderly citizens jaywalking along a stretch on North Bridge Road, resulting in many close shaves.
One stood in the middle for what seemed to be ages before running to the other side.
But this is a four-laner with buses zipping past constantly. The New Paper on Sunday team watched nervously as the elderly seemed to dice with death.
An overhead bridge and a pedestrian crossing lies about 20m from either sides of the spot they are crossing from, but are largely ignored.
DANGER
TNPS spoke to one of the jaywalkers, who wanted to be known only as Mr Xie, and he acknowledged the risks.
He says sheepishly: “I know it is dangerous to be standing in the middle of the road.
“But I have a sense of safety and I always keep an eye out for any incoming vehicles.”
Mr Xie, who is in his 70s, says he found climbing the overhead bridge to be tiring.
He says: “It is so hot these days that I will sweat a lot just climbing up and down the overhead bridge.
“It is more convenient just to jaywalk.”
The situation was similar at Eu Tong Sen Street. This is where a tragic accident took the life of an eight-year-old boy.
Mr Francis Sng, 48, owner of Chef Icon Nature Bakery, which faces the road, says he sees children jaywalking as well.
He says: “They would climb over the green dividers in the middle of the road. It is dangerous especially for kids, as they are short and drivers may not see them crossing.”
Accidents involving elderly pedestrians rose by 8.8 per cent last year, according to the Traffic Police.
They highlighted jaywalking as an area of concern for senior citizens and plan to create more awareness on road safety and the dangers of jaywalking among senior citizens.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) introduced the Green Man Plus scheme in October 2009.
The scheme gives senior citizens and disabled pedestrians more time to cross the road when they tap their cards on the card reader on the traffic light pole.
But these measures appear to be gaining little traction in the areas we visited.
A woman in her 80s, who wanted to be known only as Madam Leong, says: “I get very scared standing in the middle of the road because so many big vehicles pass by me.
“But I run really fast, so I think I am okay.”
We spot a woman trying to dissuade her friend who is pushing a toddler in a pram from crossing the road illegally, to no avail.
The woman, known only as Madam Chen, sighed and turned to TNPS, saying: “I always tell my friends not to jaywalk and just use the pedestrian crossing, especially when they are with kids. But they scold me for being ‘kaypoh’ (Hokkien for busybody).”
She adds: “Safety is the most important thing. There is an overhead bridge and a pedestrian crossing here for a reason, why don’t people just use them?”
Jaywalking led to boy’s death
Last December, they were jaywalking across Eu Tong Sen Street when a car hit them.
Mr Tan Tiong Him, 66, opted not to use an overhead bridge 30m away as he felt climbing the stairs would be too strenuous.
So he and his eight-year-old grandson Galen Ong Zi Jie crossed at the traffic lights near the New Bridge Road Bus Terminal though it was not a designated pedestrian crossing.
As they were crossing, the lights turned green for oncoming vehicles and they made a run for the other side. But a car driven by student Tan See Woon, 22, crashed into them.
Galen was flung to the middle of the road about 10m away. He died in hospital a few hours later.
Almost half a year has passed and Mr Tan still blames himself for his grandson’s death.He misses his grandson so much, he sleeps in the boy’s room about five times a week.
He now carries photographs of Galen with him everywhere so he can feel as if his beloved grandson is always with him.
Mr Tan told Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao: “I’ve always thought I was a responsible grandfather, but now that this had happened, there is no way to turn back time to how things were before.”
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is implementing Silver Zones at selected residential areas to improve road safety for elderly pedestrians.
Better safety for senior pedestrians
Silver Zones feature narrower lanes and rest points on the road divider so the elderly can cross the road in two stages. Speed limits will be reduced to 40kmh wherever possible.
Additionally, there are signs informing incoming cars that they are in the special zone, along with three rumble strips on the road to slow them down.
Other traffic features include chicanes, which are gentle curves along sections of roads, to ensure that cars do not speed.
Places with a large population of seniors and a relatively high accident rate involving seniors have been identified as Silver Zones.
Since the scheme was first announced in 2014, the LTA has completed seven Silver Zones (Bedok, Bukit Merah View, Jurong West Street 52, Lengkok Bahru, Tampines, Woodlands and Yishun). Eight more Silver Zones will be completed by next year. LTA intends to implement 35 Silver Zones in residential estates by 2020.
MORE TIME
The Green Man Plus scheme allows senior citizens and pedestrians with disabilities more time to cross the road when they tap their senior citizen concession or Green Man Plus cards on the card reader on the traffic light pole.
Introduced in October 2009, the additional time can be extended up to 13 seconds, depending on the size of the crossing. On average, most of the selected pedestrian crossings have six more seconds of “green man” time.
