I gave way to bus -- and got rammed from behind

[MarrickG]

A typical Sinkie who didn't learn his lesson after being fined the last time.

STOMPer Givewayornot was driving on the left lane when a bus suddenly swerved into his lane. In order to avoid a $130 fine for not giving way to buses, the STOMPer had to jam his brakes, causing the car behind to crash into him.

In an email to STOMP today (Aug 24), the STOMPer says:

“I got fined $130 some time ago by LTA for apparently not giving way to buses. This time round, in order not to get fined again, I had to jam brake and guess what happened? I was rammed from behind.

“I wonder what the rationale is for having this ‘give way to bus’ rule. Firstly, the markings on the road and the signboards are only visible at about 10 metres away.

“Given that the average speed of a car is approximately 50km/h, a driver will only have a few seconds or so to react. For all non-drivers out there, don't bother criticising my post. Only drivers are able to comprehend what I mean.

“What happened on that day was nothing more than a simple drive out for lunch. The speed limit of the road was 60km/h but I was on the left lane travelling at approximately 50km/h or so.

“I noticed a bus in the bus bay with its hazard lights on. As such I assumed that he was still picking up passengers and I carried on driving. When I was nearing the ‘give way’ marking on the road, the bus suddenly swerved into the road without checking to see if there were any oncoming traffic. In order to avoid the $130 fine, I had to hit my brakes hard, causing the car behind to crash into mine.

“Does the LTA think before they implement such a rule? Now I have a big problem with the insurance claims. The insurer of the driver who hit me refuses to pay for any damages as the report filed by the driver claimed that I braked suddenly, therefore causing the accident. On the other hand, I had to file a report stating that in order to avoid a $130 fine, I had to hit my brakes hard. What a ridiculous statement to write.

“I wonder how many innocent people have been victims of this unreasonable ruling. Don’t the bus drivers have to take responsibility to check before just swerving out?

“I recall learning that one must always check the blind spots and traffic before filtering. Does this LTA ruling override the Traffic Police basic theory?

“It also goes against the theory that traffic on a minor road should give way to traffic on a major road.

“Just because buses have a law protecting them doesn't mean that they can drive ignorantly and disobey all safety rules?”

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/viewContent.jsp?id=83988

 

[cooleo]

This guy is obviously not suitable for driving. LTA shud consider suspending his license

 

[liketogossip]

This guy is obviously not suitable for driving. LTA shud consider suspending his license

totally agree.... drivin at 50km/h still need to jam brake....

 

[littlefish]

Braking suddenly is no excuse for the insurer of the driver behind not to pay. The driver behind is supposed to keep at a safe distance, that means sufficient distance with respect to speed to come to a stop safely without hitting the vehicle in front. I have never heard of an insurer giving such a stupid excuse.

 

[Debonerman]

“Does the LTA think before they implement such a rule? Now I have a big problem with the insurance claims. The insurer of the driver who hit me refuses to pay for any damages as the report filed by the driver claimed that I braked suddenly, therefore causing the accident. On the other hand, I had to file a report stating that in order to avoid a $130 fine, I had to hit my brakes hard. What a ridiculous statement to write.


Small wonder PRC, Hong Kong, Taiwan label Singaporeons "Naive".

 

[ahbohthen]

so does give way means...going faster so that you won't block the bus?

 

[Debonerman]

If my knowledge of the highway code is not outdated, I understand a bus driver still need to keep a lookout for other vehicles when moving out of bus stop bays. It's only mandatory to give way to buses only if there's a yellow box to facilitate the bus to change lanes diagonally or joining the main flow of traffic. Perhaps the driver do not know that a horn comes with the car he or she had purchased?

 

[cooleo]

If my knowledge of the highway code is not outdated, I understand a bus driver still need to keep a lookout for other vehicles when moving out of bus stop bays. It's only mandatory to give way to buses only if there's a yellow box to facilitate the bus to change lanes diagonally or joining the main flow of traffic. Perhaps the driver do not know that a horn comes with the car he or she had purchased?

Horn the bus for what? Just slow down when u see a bus about to come out of the bay. The driver of the car is obviously a moron if he drives at 50km/hr knowing that the bus is coming out soon!

 

[Debonerman]

“I noticed a bus in the bus bay with its hazard lights on. As such I assumed that he was still picking up passengers and I carried on driving. When I was nearing the ‘give way’ marking on the road, the bus suddenly swerved into the road without checking to see if there were any oncoming traffic. In order to avoid the $130 fine, I had to hit my brakes hard, causing the car behind to crash into mine.

Would you use your horn under this scenario?

 

[cooleo]

“I noticed a bus in the bus bay with its hazard lights on. As such I assumed that he was still picking up passengers and I carried on driving. When I was nearing the ‘give way’ marking on the road, the bus suddenly swerved into the road without checking to see if there were any oncoming traffic. In order to avoid the $130 fine, I had to hit my brakes hard, causing the car behind to crash into mine.

Would you use your horn under this scenario?

No need to horn liao cos too late in this situation. What u shud do is horn way before to let the bus know u are approaching so the bus won't suddenly swerve out. Correct me if i am wrong

 

[Watchman]

This guy is obviously not suitable for driving. LTA shud consider suspending his license

LTA should be fucked for coming out with give way to buses.

I meant Buses has already got a bus lane. Cars should be blocking and hindering them when out of bus lanes. That's fairgrounds .

 

[cooleo]

LTA should be fucked for coming out with give way to buses.

I meant Buses has already got a bus lane. Cars should be blocking and hindering them when out of bus lanes. That's fairgrounds .

Haa buses so slow in acceleration. If every car dun wanna give way, then hong gan liao! Maybe spend 30 mins trying to filter out?

 

[Debonerman]

No need to horn liao cos too late in this situation. What u shud do is horn way before to let the bus know u are approaching so the bus won't suddenly swerve out. Correct me if i am wrong

Golden rule that's almost never taught to learner drivers. Watch the body language of the driver that presents the greatest possible source of danger to you! I develop that through years of motorcycling. Horn tooting is a lottery for road rage attacks.:p

 

[cooleo]

Golden rule that's almost never taught to learner drivers. Watch the body language of the driver that presents the greatest possible source of danger to you! I develop that through years of motorcycling. Horn tooting is a lottery for road rage attacks.:p

Watch body language of driver? Sorry hor...how can u watch the body language of the bus driver?

 

[Debonerman]

I'll try my best to explain. If a driver is looking at his right side mirror, what does that tell you? If he is looking to his left or rear to check on his passengers, what is the probability that he will step on the gas, make an unchecked right turn into the main traffic flow? When you contemplate human proneness to making mistakes, the best case study reference as a starting point should always be yourself as it's much more convenient to.

 

[cooleo]

I'll try my best to explain. If a driver is looking at his right side mirror, what does that tell you? If he is looking to his left or rear to check on his passengers, what is the probability that he will step on the gas, make an unchecked right turn into the main traffic flow? When you contemplate human proneness to making mistakes, the best case study reference as a starting point should always be yourself as it's much more convenient to.

Huh... look at the mirror? Why not just give a short horn to let him know u are approaching from behind ? This is not rude at all. Unless u are driving in Matland!

 

[Debonerman]

Are you approaching this from a point of logic or experience, if I may ask?

 

[bic_cherry]

A typical Sinkie who didn't learn his lesson after being fined the last time.

Wrong URL provided
Correct URL: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/s...e_way_to_bus__and_got_rammed_from_behind.html

 

[Narong Wongwan]

sinkies are lousy drivers........only can do well enough to pass driving test inside driving circuit and designated driving test routes.....same same as rote learning in schools to ace exams.

 

[bic_cherry]

A typical Sinkie who didn't learn his lesson after being fined the last time.

Link to STOMP article: 'I gave way to bus -- and got rammed from behind'


Hi MarrickG,
actually, 'Sinkei' 'Givewayornot' learnt his lesson and did the lawful thing by breaking to give way to the swerving bus (he had to lawfully give way and it would be wise to give way to a bus being driven recklessly)- of note, he had previously been fined for not having given way.

Question remains if the give way to buses scheme is indeed a safe scheme or just another slipshod scheme to coverup for the government's past mistakes of making Singapore streets unsuitable for bicycle use and the lack of development of the public transport system when bicycles were (informally) outlawed from Singapore roads.

My short take is that compared to the sincere effort towards implementing proper bus lanes schemes, increased frequency and better bus route networks, better laws to train and protect cyclists on roads and wider foot paths for shared pedestrian and cyclists use, ERP for private vehicle use to regulate road traffic flows, the 24hrs 'give way to buses scheme' (GWTBS) is another slipshod effort to improve means of transport for the entire population in Singapore.

U might want to read: 'Effective transport for masses in Singapore, a pipe dream of lost opportunity'.