As everyone should know, today, 9th of July 2020 is the cooling off day for GE2020 and it so happened that the weather is pretty cool after the morning downpour.
That said, things were not so cool for these two Private Hire drivers yesterday.
As seen on Sg Road Vigilante, a video of two PHV drivers turning the heat up (for the wrong reasons) has been spotted.
No one knows what they they were fighting for but we can almost safely assume it is due to one of them not giving way to the other or something similar like that at this NEX taxi stand in Serangoon.
It then seemed like a causally-dressed (weird) taxi driver tried to stop them. Kudos for him.
What really amused us was the replies in the comments section. Check them out!
Now this will probably open up a can of worms or two. Who do you reckon is in the wrong? The cyclist or the driver of the Audi?
Filmed by the cyclist on 5th of July along mandai road, a white Audi A1 could be seen pulling out of a small lane and into the path of a cyclist who was doing less than 30km/h on his bike.
According to the source SG Road Vigilante, the guys there reckoned the car did not notice or did not care about the cyclist, barely cutting him off.
What do you guys think?
Was it a close call or an error on the part of the Audi driver? Or was this a simple case of the cyclist letting his ego take control of him and not riding defensively for his own safety?
Today we have something special lined up just for you guys.
The Cupra Ateca is the first car from Seat's new performance division, now launched as a stand alone brand in its own right, to reach Singapore's shores.
As you can see, Julian makes an interesting introduction to the Cupra brand at the start of the video.
But what's really great about the Ateca is the fact that it is really spacious for a performance vehicle. Check out these shots...
And look how small the car makes Julian look when he sits in the rear. Even your lankiest teenage children will not be hard pressed for space.
And to drive? Once again, let me simply leave you with one simple image.
If you're in the market for a spacious SUV that will still egg you on the take corners with good aggression, give the Cupra Ateca a try. Or watch the full video review here!
How it all began
[December 2017]
I had a couple of beers with some friends at a bar along Beach Road. Christmas was around the corner, the festive mood had set in and spirits were high.
Now when I say "a couple of beers", I probably had like 5 standard glasses (if we're being specific).
I left the bar around 11.30pm to head to another location to meet a different group of friends.
These are just some of the phrases I told my friends before getting into my car.
I was young-er, carefree, ignorant and stupid. And I got caught.
Why so stupid?
The reasons that I used to convince myself that drink driving was okay seem pretty dumb to me today [2020].
1. If I met a girl, I could impress her with my car and driving skills even though I was intoxicated
2. I felt like I could save money by driving by wasting money on a taxi or private hire
3. You don’t have to “fight” with hundreds of other people trying to get a taxi or private hire car at the same time as you
4. It’s easier and convenient to go to the next drinking location
How I got caught drink driving
My other appointment was somewhere in the West.
I didn’t think that there would be a roadblock set up before 12 midnight! Or at least, not along the usual route I took. I was wrong.
When you see a roadblock after drinking, let me tell you that it’s one of the worst combinations of feelings (easily top 10) you’ll ever feel as a person.
The gut-wrenching fear, the sweaty palms, the increased heart rate and adrenaline all hits you at once. On top of the buzz you're feeling from the alcohol, that's one #$%^$% up emotional cocktail that no one should go through.
Roadblocks are strategically placed so that you have no where to run. You can try and do a 3-point turn and drive against traffic but you'll still get caught eventually (those motorbikes are fast).
If you’re unfortunate enough to get the iconic “Asian flush” (like I do) after drinking, there’s nowhere you can hide.
I tried to mask the smell of alcohol by lighting up a cigarette, but the officer did not buy it one bit.
What you should do
The standard question they will ask:
You have 2 choices right there n then; lie or tell the truth.
If you lie and they find out that you’ve been drinking after conducting an alcohol breath test, you’ll be handcuffed and brought away, no questions asked.
If you tell them the truth (like I did), they’ll give you the decency of not handcuffing you, but you’ll still get sent to lock up if you fail the breath test.
The police will then ask if there’s anyone who can drive your car away or they will tow it somewhere.
I managed to find a couple of SOBER friends who did me a solid and took my car for me.
What happened next was probably the longest 8 to 9 hours of my life.
I had a "free taxi ride" to the Police Station in Ubi
I was processed and thrown into a holding cell
I needed to use the toilet, but they sent a guard with me to ensure I didn’t drink any water (I’ll get to this in a bit)
I had to wait for 5 to 6 hours before an Investigating Officer (IO) saw me
I was only released 1 to 2 hours after my “interview” with the IO
Alcohol Breath Test
If you fail the breath test at the roadblock, the Police will conduct another one while you’re in lock up. Think of that as your second chance. If you pass, you will probably get a warning and they'll let you go.
The reason why they assigned a guard to follow me to the toilet was so that I wouldn’t drink tap water to lower my alcohol percentage in my breath. I even contemplated drinking toilet bowl water, but the thought of that (even today), is still a disgusting one.
It’s no surprise that I failed the second alcohol breath test (my reading was 51ug). The prescribed limit is 35 microgrammes (ug) per 100 millimetres (ml) of breath.
Drink Driving Penalties
Between 35 – 54 ug: $1,000 to $2,000 in fines, and a driving ban of 12 to 18 months
Between 55 – 69 ug: $2,000 to $3,000 in fines, and a driving ban for 18 to 24 months
Between 70 – 89 ug: $3,000 to $4,000 in fines, and a driving ban for 24 to 36 months
At least 90 ug: $4,000 to $5,000 in fines, and a driving ban for 36 to 48 months or longer
*Applicable to first-time offenders only
I had to appear in court sometime in January 2018, and I got hit with a $2000 fine and a driving ban of 18 months (the maximum punishment for people within the 1st tier).
Lessons learnt
The worst thing about having a driving ban of more than 11 months is that you will have to retake EVERYTHING!
Your Basic Theory, Final Theory and Practical Driving Test. Include the $2000 fine, and you’re paying a lot of money for your stupidity. Should have just paid the $15 for a cab right?
I hope by writing this, I will be able to dissuade people from drink driving and not make the same costly (not to mention, dangerous) mistake I made.
Thanks for reading and drive safe!
[July 2020]
Spotted on SG Road Vigilante's facebook page is this amusing photo of a motorbike's number plate.
According to them, this was taken on 1st of July 2020 at Bukit Batok West Edge and the bike in question is a Yamaha Aerox.
We have no idea why would someone flout the law to do this.
To improve aerodynamics? To make the bike look bigger than it is? Or to make it harder to be identifed by the Traffic Police's camera and Traffic Police wannabes on SG Road Vigilante?
What do you all think?
Even if you are in a hurry, this is not the way to ride.
Spotted going around group chats in Whatapp, a video of a biker who tried to overtake and crashed has gone viral recently.
The accident which happened on TPE near IKEA Tampines, in the direction of Pasir Ris, was captured by the camera car on 27 Jun 2020.
In the video we can see this biker who apparently had no bike license or insurance crashing badly while he tried to overtake the camera car which was changing lanes. Check out how far his bike went ahead of the camera car after the collision!
According to Sg Road Vigilante, the rider was later arrested.
Thankfully, the rider escaped death and we hope the authorities deal with him properly for hurting the road divider that he crashed into.
Check out what netizens have to say about this crash!
sgCarMart's video reviews are back!
Finally after more than a month of quiet we are back with another review! And first up after our long break is the Audi A1 Sportback.
Oh right, and its only Julian reviewing the car this time round, you know, cause sgCarMart is being socially responsible and all.
The Audi A1 Sportback may have a decent boot by supermini standards, but looks like that boot is still just enough to make Julian work up a good sweat when loading in the child seat haha!
And it looks like it has a pretty glam cockpit as well!
And what about the drive? Well, I think this shot pretty much sums up the experience behind the wheel of the A1.
So, if perhaps you're looking for something with a premium badge but is still compact enough to squeeze into any parallel lot at Little India, could this be what you have always been looking for?
Watch the full video to find out more!
More details about a crash that happened on 19 June 2020 involving a bus and three cars at the junction of Sembawang Road and Gambas Avenue at 10.08am has been released.
In the video posted by ROADS.sg, one can see a speeding Toyota Altis crashing into a Toyota CH-R at extreme speeds.
The blue car was sent spinning from the impact and can be seen with its front bumper mangled.
Impressively, the 52-year old driver in the Altis managed to flee the scene despite the severity of the crash. He was later caught for suspected drug-related and traffic-related offences.
Meanwhile, the police said that the CH-R driver, a 50-year-old male car driver as well as his 39-year-old female passenger were conscious when taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
On a side note, do you guys think that if you happen to be planning a heist or something along those lines, that this video serves as proof that even in an accident as severe as this, you could walk away pretty much unharmed if you were in a Toyota Altis?
While some of us who are working from home can stay in bed longer in this cool weather, others who have to go into the office had to brave the thunderstorm this morning (23 June 2020).
Certain parts of Singapore experienced flash floods and there were plenty of videos and photos being shared around.
For those who hasn't seen any of those, here are some of the 'highlights' from SG Road Vigilante and other sources.
The Tanah Merah/Bedok area seemed to have had it especially bad. We were impressed most of the traffic still continued on their way despite the flood water at Upper Changi Rd. It is believed that it gotten deeper and a few cars ended up stranded soon after.
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Jurong East also had some issues with the flash flood too.
Last weekend saw Singapore going into Phase 2, whereby almost every industry could become operational again.
With showrooms closed for more than a month since the start of our lockdown, naturally this weekend also saw some decent traffic.
Unfortunately, one test drive in particular went bad for this particular Honda shopper at Leng Kee...
We don't have details on exactly what happened but it does look like this Red Honda Jazz that was probably going through a test drive, isn't going to be sold as a new car anytime soon.
On the bright side, we can be sure that Honda's safety features sure work very well.
P.S. We reckon with the upcoming all new Jazz's Honda Sensing safety suite, this accident could have been avoided.
Now, we are sure not everyone agrees on this but here is proof that Singaporeans really can't drive.
As we all know, today is the first day of Phase 2 since the COVID-19 lockdown. This means that most if not all retail outlets can start to operate again and naturally, everyone will want to go to their favourite restaurant and shops to enjoy or buy whatever they need.
Of course the rush get out of our homes means that traffic on the roads will increase. And with the increase of traffic, Singapore roads accident.com has reported that in just one morning, there were at least 15 accidents that happened on our roads. (19 Jun 2020).
Have Singaporeans forgotten how to drive after not driving for more than a month?
We can't help but agree with one of the last comments shown in the photo below...
Bought a brand new car and want to avoid door dings? Or perhaps you're a car enthusiast and want to keep your car away from potential busybodies?
You can now create your own private parking space even though you don't live in a private estate!
Check out this dude in the video below and how he does this...We wonder what this guy drives that gives him the right to have his own special private parking lot.
Whichever car that is going to be parked in that lot at 406 Fernvale Road MSCP better be a nice car...
Check out the comments people on SG Road Vigilante have to say!
Another high-performance car has been spotted in a crash while going at a good speed.
Our latest post shows a Black Renault Megane RS going at a decent speed before losing control while stepping on his brakes.
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From the video, we can see that the driver was trying to avoid the road works in his lane but curiously, the car seems to have malfunctioned while he was on his brakes. If you looked at the video carefully, you could see straight black lines on the road, indicating that the tyres locked up before he slammed into the left side of the viaduct before bouncing across into the opposite barrier.
While it did seem like the Megane was at or slightly above the speed limit, the crash is quite a mystery to us as under normal circumstances, there is more than sufficient space to stop or avoid the roadworks.
What do you guys think? Could it be a brake failure, tyre puncture or a case of the driver falling asleep at the wheel? Let us know in the comments below!
Now this is a new level of road bullying. Check out this new post from SG Road Vigilante where the camera car is being harassed by a Toyota Premio from Geylang all the way until the end of the Thomson Flyover on the PIE towards Jurong.
The incident happened on 10th of June, 2020 and we all know that there can be no smoke without fire. Coming out from Lor 19 Geylang and merging into Geylang Rd, the camera car must have honked the offending Premio as the Premio appears to be stopping in the middle of a busy and messy four lane road for no reason.
In the Premio driver's defence, he could have trying to pick up a passenger as the car is under the Private Hire scheme and can be seen using his hazards. Unfortunately for him, he chose to lose his temper when he was honked at by the camera car, a Toyota Noah/Esquire, which could very likely be another Private Hire vehicle rushing to pick up/drop off another passenger.
As we can see, in the process of intimidating the white Toyota MPV camera car, the Premio driver drove through a red light along Geylang Rd.
From the various submissions of video to the SGRV's page, the whole event only ended when both of them drove past the Thomson Flyover, with the Premio driver speeding off after wildly gesturing at the camera car.
Naturally the comment sections were full of unkind words for the "ah beng" in the Premio...
So do you think the Premio driver is in the wrong? Or is there another side to this story? Let us know in the comments below!
A driver who seems to have underestimated the size of his package has gotten himself stuck under an overhead bridge along the West Coast Highway.
Published on SG Road Vigilante, the accident happened last night (9 June 2020), causing traffic heading towards Pasir Panjang some inconvenience at the junction of West Coast Highway and Alexandra Road.
Judging from the photos shared online, we can't be sure whose fault it was. It could be the transporter's/driver's fault or the escort service's fault (if there were hired in the first place).
We hope the bridge remains open and unhurt!
Check out what netizens have to say!
Last weekend saw the tragic accident of a BMW driver who was flung out of his E92 3 Series convertible along PIE. Condolences to the poor soul who did not survive the crash.
Last weekend also saw the not-so-tragic accident of two Lamborghini Aventadors crashing into each other along Sembawang Road on 7 June.
The photos of the 2 lamborghinis which crashed into each other went viral among local car clubs with SG Road Vigilante further furnishing us with the video shown here.
According to the SGRV's post, the owners of the Aventadors removed their number plates promptly after the accident but its members could spot the similar black bonnet, black strip , white brake caliper and etc. that was similar to another yellow Lamborghini Aventador which was caught driving recklessly at Newton.
Check out what netizens have to say about this double crash!
Is this a case of 'you get what you deserve'? Or do you guys think the crash is a loss to our local car scene?
With the end of the Circuit Breaker measures, more people have resumed working, creating more traffic on our roads.
But that has not stop this rider from riding recklessly on his Personal Mobility Device (PMD) in Sembawang.
As reported by SG Road Vigilante, the rider can be seen overtaking a car that is moving away from the traffic lights before keeping up to speed with it.
In fact, the video which was shot on the 4th of June, showed the rider overtaking a motorcycle in the next lane.
Judging from the 20 seconds plus clip, we reckon he could have been doing twice the legal speed limit of PMDs (25km/h).
Naturally, netizens were quick to slam him...
Should we be tolerating this? Watch the video of the PMD rider here!
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When there is a will, there is always a way.
This sure rings very true for this particular HDB parking offender as shown in the video posted by SG Road Vigilante.
Dated on the 3rd of June, the video is pretty much self-explanatory.
While we don't know what prompted the Toyota Prius driver to do that, sharp eyed viewers would have noticed that all that madness was quite unnecessary as the gantry opened up towards the end of the 48 second video.
As usual, the comments on the page weren't exactly constructive..
But this one was pretty funny.
Watch what this guy does here!
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Someone has spotted this chrome-wrapped Mitsubishi Evolution 9 MR parking at some motorcycle lots and sent it to SG Road Vigilante.
The photo, which was taken on 30th of May 2020, obviously shows the Mitsubishi Evo occupying lots intended for motorcycles.
You might be wondering why we are sharing this with you as HDB parking offences are not that big a deal as it is a common occurrence. In fact, we reckon most of us should have some form committed parking offences before and simply sort out our mistake by making an appeal for the parking offence.
What is interesting however, are the comments on this photo on SGRV's facebook post, there were more netizens praising how cool the Evo looked or how rare the car is instead of the usual slamming and shaming comments.
Don't you love our local car community?
Now this is not something the residents of Ang Mo Kio get to see everyday!
A Traffic Police officer has apparently skidded on the wet floor and crashed his Yamaha bike at the lift lobby of Block 619 Ang Mo Kio.
As reported by SG Road vigilante, the incident happened on 27 May 2020 and eye witnesses claim that the officer was trying to chase another motorbike through the void deck when the police officer lost control and hit the wall.
The comments by netizens were generally supportive of the officer going all the way in the fight for justice, with the usual few negative views here and there.
Could this be another case of street racing spotted on our roads during the Circuit Breaker period?
Spotted on Reckless Driver SG's facebook page, a video has been posted showing the camera car driving slowly on the middle land before a small group of cars went past it at a higher speed.
Yes. this is milder than the incident on the KPE that had the drivers in the video arrested, with only three cars shown in the short 40-plus-second clip. In fact, we reckon the 'tiong chias' were doing approximately 120-140km/h while the camera car was doing 70-80km/h.
The cars, likely a Ford Focus, a Honda FD Civic and a Honda Integra were caught on camera at around 11:20pm on the 25th of May heading towards AYE Jurong inside the CTE tunnel.
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On another note, we were surprised to find most of the comments attacking the video owner, saying that the camera car was road-hogging.
Do you agree? Let us know!
A popular local Singer/Songwriter has taken to her facebook page to rant about cars making loud explosive noises where she lives.
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In her post, Beverly Morata Grafton pointed out in her post she has been experiencing "exhausts have been popping off like gunshots from 10:30pm and counting. And like every weekend since mid April, they will do so until 4am plus in the morning..."
From her photos and videos that she provided, we gathered that these incidents happenen along Yishun Ave 1, where Sinopec Yishun is situated at. This stretch has a speed camera but car enthusiasts are known to still gun their cars there while heading towards the Yishun Dam.
We will not go into the rest of her post as it can be a bit demeaning and vulgar. For those who are curious, you can view her post below.
In the video that was taken on the 25th of April, we could identify a white Volkswagen Golf accelerating away quickly from the petrol station before letting off some loud bangs, much to the annoyance of the songwriter.
Being a post on the writer's personal page, it was no surprise to find the comments supporting her views.
But what do you guys think? More pops and bangs for everyone? Or should we cooperate for quieter neighbourhoods?
Today's post is slightly different from the usual posts as there is nothing lawfully wrong (as far as we know!) about today's subject.
Published first on ROADS.sg's facebook page, road user Shah Ismail took a photo of this guy on his electric bike as he was at the junction of Mountbatten Road and Stadium Blvd.
We don't know what to make of this; maybe Monkey God, a legendary character in a popular Chinese novel, hasn't realised that the hairdressing salons are already back in operation?
Check out the what others have to say about this peculiar scene.
Ever since the Circuit Breaker measures have kicked in, more people have started working out in the parks as that is one of the few things left that you can do that is not indoors.
Naturally, jogging and cycling in parks is one of the more popular outdoor activities but while we are engaged in such activities, it is best to keep a lookout for your family members.
As seen on Singapore Roads safety/Roads safety.SG facebook page, the camera car was traveling along Yishun Ave 8 on 15th of May 2020 when the driver saw a child straying onto the road with his kick scooter.
According to the Facebook post, the child's parents were not idenitified in the video(might have been the man on the right with a white top). Thankfully for the boy, a passing cyclist managed to the pull the child to safety.
Meanwhile the camera car driver claimed to have swerved into the middle lane while a fast-moving lorry was coming up from behind. Viewers can spot the lorry zooming past the cyclist and the kid in the video.
Naturally, netizens were fast to flame the parents for not caring for the kid. The lorry that zoomed past did not escape the flames too.
We know that all of us should be keeping a safe distance from each other in such times. But we reckon these guys that have been caught on video might have taken it abit too far.
This video, as posted by SG Road Vigilante, shows a slow moving camera car (claimed to be doing 80km/h but it looks more like 60km/h to us) that was traveling on KPE towards TPE chancing upon a bunch or cars that were abit too keen to distance themselves from any traffic around them.
Apparently this happened on the wee hours of 16th May morning and from what we can gather, the lead car is a R34 Nissan Skyline that zoomed past the camera car at a speed that seemed to double the legal speed limit of the KPE.
Its hard to tell from the video but other than the Skyline, we could also identify a few other cars including a Suzuki Swift, a Volkswagen Golf, a Volkswagen Jetta (that might have been the same guy that was charged for organising illegal street racing), a Mitsubishi Evo 9 and a couple of Honda Civics.
Interestingly, most of the comments were attacking the camera car for being slow. We wonder why.
On the other hand, there will always be keyboard warriors that come out with weird and silly comments like the example below...
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