Should Singapore do away with traffic lights and
signs, in a bid to rid the roads of virulent bad
driving?
Counter-intuitive as it sounds, such a move has borne results. In
the Dutch town of Drachten, removing street rules and directives
resurrected road users' "ability to be considerate", reported the
late traffic guru Hans Monderman, co-founder of the "naked streets"
initiative.
In recent months, concerns about unsafe driving habits here have
been in the spotlight, following the two Rochor Road junction
crashes and a string of cyclist deaths. Just this week, Law and
Foreign Minister K Shanmugam's Facebook post on his own close
brushes broached the question: Have our driving habits become
worse?
More fundamentally, why?
IS IT CONGESTION?
One could blame road congestion for fuelling the impatience
manifested in annoying traits such as tailgating, cavalier honking
and lane-weaving. Or it may be that there is "too much construction
with confusing diversions", as one respondent to our poll
said.
But there are other cities with worse traffic snarls, like New
York, Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh, yet seldom does one witness the
aggressive "retaliation" seen here.
Private driving instructor KC, who frequently travels to Jakarta
(another city with perpetual jams), said drivers there are a lot
more "civilised" even though traffic conditions are much worse. "As
long as they can brake in time and there's no accident, it's okay.
They don't speed up and show you the middle finger just because you
(honk) or move into their lane," he said.
ME FIRST
Rather, many drivers interviewed by TODAY feel the problem is a
self-centred attitude behind the wheel.
Full-time national serviceman Josh Lim, who holds a driving licence
and cycles on roads, said there is a sense of "what's mine is
mine", hence the reluctance to give way. "It's about 'I want to get
home first' or 'get off the roads because you don't belong
here'."
Another private driving instructor, who declined to be named, said
he frequently encounters drivers who speed up when they see his
students signalling to switch lanes. "Just a few seconds'
difference, but cannot. Maybe they think it's 'lose face'."
Ms Joyce Phua, a private tutor, added that "sometimes it's easier
if I don't signal".
Ironically, being sticklers for the letter of the law could be
causing us to throw manners out the window.
"If you hit someone from behind, you are at fault straight away;
doesn't matter what the driver in front did," Mr KC said, adding
that there are no explicit laws against bad habits like not
signalling.
Some agree it makes drivers almost "self-righteous", citing the
example of road hogs who don't give way when they see that other
cars want to overtake. "They think they don't need to give way just
because they are not doing anything 'wrong'," said banker Andy Lim,
29.
The knock-on effect? A frustrated driver may retaliate.
Cabby Tan S H, 48, recalls one incident when the driver behind
began flashing his headlights furiously from "at least 100 metres
away". And just as Mr Tan was about to give way, the car swerved
and passed him on the left, the driver gesturing menacingly.
He then cut back in front of Mr Tan's taxi and started "braking on
and off until our speed was about 60kmh in the first lane", the
cabby recalled. "I almost knocked into him a few times."
STICK OR MORE CARROTS?
Several of those who commented on Mr Shanmugam's Facebook post on
Monday, like Adeline Wong, feel that "enforcement is seldom seen
nowadays". Businessman Tay Seng Quan said this makes errant drivers
bolder as there's a belief that "getting caught is a low
risk".
"After some time, people 'monkey see monkey do', so you get more
bad driving habits," said the 53-year-old.
TODAY asked the police about this perception of fewer traffic cops
on the roads but they were unable to comment by press time.
Singapore Road Safety Council Secretariat Senior Manager Mark Chow,
however, pointed out that "traffic police can't be everywhere all
the time".
Other than the calls to step up enforcement or make penalties
stiffer, are there out-of-the-box solutions worth pondering
over?
Recruitment specialist Jacee Liau suggests rewarding good behaviour
instead. Although motorists currently enjoy rebates to their
insurance premiums for every consecutive year they do not make
claims (up to 50 per cent), this "reward" does not directly
encourage good driving habits or gracious behaviour.
There could be "mystery" traffic cops going around year-round,
spotting "model drivers" and rewarding them with "merit points",
the 28-year-old suggests. When a driver accumulates a certain
number of points, he gets a cash reward or a rebate on the road
tax.
The difficulty to this idea, obviously, is the huge deployment of
manpower resources.
MANDATORY REFRESHERS
Businessman Eng Yi Yuan, 29, suggested lowering speed limits on
expressways during peak hours, citing how the speed cameras along
the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway tunnels "work wonders". "When
everyone is stuck at a lower speed, no one is in a position to get
into accidents. There's no excessive acceleration, so no sudden
braking."
Another oft-made call is for periodic refresher courses, as driving
instructor KC noted: "Very often, you see that the serious
accidents involve seasoned drivers, not new ones. So it's not a
skill problem, but complacency."
Some still feel more emphasis should be placed on new drivers: Make
it more difficult to get a licence, and have a yearly re-assessment
by the traffic police for the first three years.
Mr Eng said drivers should be made to sit through a lecture before
they can renew their road tax. "You show pictures of traffic
accidents in the past year, analysis of how inconsiderate driving
leads to accidents, and interviews with victims saying how their
lives have been affected," he said. "You might not be able to
influence everyone but it should improve things."
Other discourteous driving habits, such as road-hogging by
slow-moving or heavy vehicles - often driven by foreigners - should
be addressed. Some feel that those holding foreign licences should
re-sit the driving test, rather than be allowed to convert their
licence by passing a basic theory test.
USE VIDEO FOOTAGE
As more car-owners are installing mobile cameras in their vehicles,
one view is that the authorities should consider a whistle-blowing
channel. Making sure any driver can "weed out" bad hats would keep
most on their toes.
Still, there are those like accountant Betty Lim who feel that
"self-regulation" is the only way. "Until we become a country that
appreciates tolerance, no amount of fine or demerit points will
change the way we drive," she said.
Indeed, as the Drachten experiment - since replicated in several
European cities, including Ejby, Denmark; Ipswich, England; and
Ostende, Belgium - shows, "common-sense" driving, by way of
friendly gestures, head nods and eye contact, could be most
effective.
Unsafe could be safer, as Mr Monderman put it: "The many rules
strip us of the most important ability - the ability to be
considerate. The greater the number of prescriptions, the more
people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles." While it would
be unfeasible to roll out such an urban experiment island-wide,
perhaps a pilot in a small neighbourhood could surprise us with its
results. - TODAY