Oct 13, 11:50 AM EDT
Singapore Pushing 'Road Wave' Campaign
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Singapore's government urged drivers to apologize
for "errors of judgment" on the road and wave to fellow motorists,
in its latest behavior modification campaign rolled out
Thursday.
"If you do make an error of judgment on the road, a simple
apologetic wave on your part will go a long way to defuse the
situation and avoid confrontation," said Ho Peng Kee, the country's
senior minister of state for law.
"Singapore roads need not be stressful if we all drive with
consideration, with care, with courtesy in mind," he said.
Ho said the "Singapore Road Wave" would be incorporated into the
annual road courtesy campaign.
Around half a million leaflets with road safety messages will be
distributed as part of the promotion, he said.
And there's road courtesy for children too.
"A story book entitled 'James and the Big Red Car,' which
highlights the importance of child seats, will be relaunched to
incorporate road courtesy messages at the back of the book," Ho
said.
Singapore, a tiny, wealthy city-state, is well-known for its
campaigns to modify behavior. Among its efforts have been campaigns
to teach Singaporeans to speak English properly, to show people how
to be more romantic, and to flush public toilets.
Critics have denounced the numerous promotions of morality as
Orwellian and condescending toward citizens.
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