Driving

After reading our friend, Ann, blog on her experiences in learning about driving and her interesting dialogue with her husband, I have an impetus to air my views on driving too.

For a start, folks here will tell you that if you got your driving license from the Ubi Driving Test Centre, you’ve got ‘liao(3)’ (meaning got substance / skill). Whether this is unfounded rumor or not, word has it that the test routes at this center are the most challenging as compared to other test centers elsewhere. There are a few reasons: traffic condition is often heavy around this center, lanes are narrower, heavy and slow-moving vehicles galore with faster moving vehicles trying to zip in and out to get ahead of others.

Anyway, I had to learn my driving at this center as it was only a stone-throw away from home. It took me 2 attempts to get my license. Whew – I was glad that my parents didn’t have to fork out more money for more attempts at the driving test. During my time (around 1994), they spent about $1000++ on driving tuition fees, theory and practical test fees. For someone who didn’t have the earning power then, a 4-digit sum was astronomical.

Okay, once after I passed my driving test, my dad couldn’t let me go on my own on the road. He insisted sitting by my side whenever I got the opportunity to drive the family car. And that for a year. On hindsight, he had prevented me from getting into a number of car accidents. He taught me the things I must look out for on the road, something like a driver’s intuition and how to be road-smart. Thank you, dad.

After driving independently for about 13 years now, I have developed my own ‘philosophy’ for driving smart and safely. Below are some brief pointers:

On Driving Safely

1) Always signal your intention to turn or change lanes (A lot of S’porean drivers don’t!)

2) Always use the hazard lights when stopping or parking (#@!! a lot of S’porean drivers don’t!)

3) Always check your blind spot before turning or filtering (Some drivers only check their mirrors. Big mistake!)

4) If traveling at high speed, slow down before maneuvering a sharp turn

5) Turn on the headlights in a poorly-lit carpark even if it is daytime. This is to alert other drivers of your presence.

6) Never tailgate another vehicle especially on highways. You may have to skill to brake in time but if the vehicle behind you also tailgate, he/she may not brake in time and the result is you’re hit from the back and the force of the collision may cause your car to jerk forward and hit the vehicle in front (due to the short distance in between). I was in such an unpleasant situation before on PIE on a rainy day. Chain collision. Not my fault as I stopped in time but the line of vehicles behind me couldn’t and so my car kissed the backside of the one in front. Trouble many many. Insurance reports la, claims la, repairs la, car-crippled la, morale low la, etc.

On Driving Smart

1) Don’t drive behind a bus or taxi in the leftmost lane because they may stop for passengers (Especially taxis! Some don’t signal their intention to stop and can stop suddenly causing the car behind to jam brakes)

2) Because of our ungracious and inconsiderate drivers here, it is useful to be able to sense / ‘read’ their intention on the roads. E.g. If a car is edging towards a lane divider without any signaling, chances are that he/she wants to filter. Just be on an alert for such behavior. If a vehicle in front of you slows down in a car park without signaling, chances are that the driver intends to park. Don’t follow so close and then curse and swear at the driver because you now have to reverse for him/her. Worse case scenario is that you can’t even reverse sufficiently because the vehicle behind you is too close to your car. Then you have to pop your head out to gesture and so on.

3) Q: When approaching a traffic light that’s amber, you should __________________.

A) speed up to clear the junction so as to save time

B) slow down to stop

Before you pass your driving test, your answer should be B. After you got your licence, you might be one of the many drivers opting for A. Well, if you really want to beat the traffic light, my advice is that you should open your eyes big big to check for red light camera at that junction. If it is there, don’t go against your hard-earned money la. The other thing to check for is the safety of pedestrians. Oh, one more thing to ensure is that you don’t crash into the vehicle in front of you intending to stop.

4) During heavy traffic conditions on normal roads, my main objective is often to clear traffic junctions. It helps to cut down time. I would choose the shortest queue to clear the junction first and then get back to the right lane. When traffic is light, my main objective is also to clear traffic junctions. Stopping and accelerating consume more fuel.

5) When planning to drive to a particular destination, choose the route that consists of mainly highway rather than the one with a shorter distance but with many traffic lights. Fuel efficiency is always better when you travel on highway at a constant speed. Of course, the difference in distance should be too great between the 2 routes. 2 other ways of saving fuel: check that your car tires are at the correct pressure and that your car does not carry unnecessary load.

6) Don’t hesitate to use your horn when you see danger approaching in your direction, e.g. a car filtering without checking the blind spot where you are. Also toot your horn hard at drivers who cut your queue especially during heavy traffic – I know this can hardly be of any use but sometimes drivers do get embarrassed and move out halfway cutting into the queue.

7) When parking your car, choose your neighbours wisely. The risk of getting your car scratched is higher if you park beside or even behind vehicles such as vans or trucks. If possible, park in a solitary lot. If not, choose to park beside brand new cars. In addition, try to have 1 neighbour on your right with a pillar on your left.

8) It is wise to carry a camera phone or a pocket camera along when driving in case of you ‘langah’ somebody’s car or vice versa. The camera allows you to take photos as evidence of the accident. Photos to include are: all the vehicles involved in the accident, close-up of the damage, licence plates, the model of the vehicles, the vicinity of the accident, the road name where the accident occurred, the other driver(s) involved (if possible). Always take down the driver(s)’ name, NRIC no and contact no. Then, the rest is up to negotiation or to involve insurance companies.

Unlike continental cars, one disadvantage of driving a Japanese car is that its body would normally crumple like paper during a collision. One criterion for me when buying new cars is that there must be an impact zone at the back – meaning the car got a longer backside la. So, it has been sedans for me so far. This is to give more protection for passengers, especially your loved ones, in the back seat.

Better stop here. Yang says that I’m writing an essay liao. Hee hee.