Singapore Drivers' Behaviour

[Elfenstar]

Is japan really that good?

 

Very safe?

 

http://www.google.com.sg/search?client=fir..._s&hl=en&q=car+

accidents+in+japan&meta=&btnG=Google+Search

 

Think again.

 

I got this from one of the articles when i entered your URL. Its from http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials...1/28/2003338285

Read it and weep! Btw, note the similarity in driving styles in taiwan and sg. (In case you're wondering, taiwan is LHD so the fast lane is on the left).

 

Traffic accidents and social values

By Eugene Chiu 丘為君

 

Tuesday, Nov 28, 2006, Page 8

 

The car accident involving Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) and his wife Shaw Hsiao-ling (邵曉鈴) was a terrible shock to everyone.

 

The number of people in Taiwan killed and injured in traffic accidents over the past 10 years stands out among other social indicators, along with the crime rate.

 

According to figures from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (主計處), there were 5,929 deaths and injuries from traffic accidents in 1996. By 2000, that number had risen sharply to 70,283.

 

Since then, it has continued to soar by double-digit growth rates, until last year it reached 205,981, or nine people in 1,000 being injured or killed in car accidents.

 

However, things are very different in neighboring countries.

 

China's economic growth in recent years has spurred road construction and the desire to travel under one's own power, which in turn has led to a rise in traffic accidents. Every year more than 100,000 people die in car accidents -- the highest in the world. Every five minutes, someone dies on the road and every minute someone becomes disabled as a result of a traffic accident.

 

No wonder reports by the WHO say that China is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for drivers and pedestrians alike.

 

China's traffic conditions have no doubt made an impression on any Taiwanese who has seen them firsthand.

 

Hong Kong and Japan, however, are model examples. Everyone is aware that Hong Kong has many cars for its relatively few roads, but visitors there have certainly noticed that Hong Kong drivers are mindful of traffic laws and remain very alert while on the road. This is what has kept the city's bustling traffic from degenerating into chaos.

 

Hong Kong traffic is among the densest in the world, and yet Hong Kong remains one of the safest cities to drive in. Only 0,23 people per 1,000 die in car accidents there every year.

 

The Japanese may even be more law-abiding drivers than people in Hong Kong.

 

In Japan, one will discover that almost nobody steps on the gas or stops in the crosswalk when the light turns red. Nor is this the exception, but the rule.

 

With around 80 million cars across the country, Japan is the world's kingdom of cars. With its economy on the rise in 1970 it experienced 16,000 traffic fatalities. In the last few years, with its economy going in the opposite direction as that of Taiwan, traffic deaths have been declining. Last year they fell to just 6,871 -- the lowest in 40 years.

 

Media reports said that Shaw's accident was caused by someone incorrectly trying to pass on the outside shoulder.

 

In the West and in Japan, it is customary for cars to pass on the innermost lane, be it on a two-lane or a three-lane road. Unless there is traffic, when a car approaches from behind, the car in front must make way by moving to the right.

 

Taiwan still hasn't established such driving ethics.

 

Taiwanese drivers have grown accustomed to staying planted in the left inside lane, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the large trucks and tour buses on the outside. However, this means that overtaking cars have become used to passing on the right.

 

Most Taiwanese drivers on the highway don't worry about what others are doing or look in their rear-view mirrors as frequently as they should. Drivers on the inside lane often don't see the cars approaching from behind, so the overtaking cars flash their headlights or honk.

 

Obviously, Taiwan's many traffic accidents cannot all be explained by the problem of passing on the right. It's not only a surface problem with legal standards, but also stems from people's acceptance of a culture of superficiality.

 

Traffic accidents are the byproduct of a civilization of modern technology. The Taiwanese have become drunk with the notion of material success and some have taken the view that pursuing economic wealth will make them civilized people.

 

However, this kind of superficial view of life is in need of reflection and adjustment. Perhaps our political leaders need to take a step back from the myth of economic growth and think.

 

Establishing a system of morality and ethics for the modern age is also an indispensable element in Taiwan's march toward becoming a more civilized nation.

 

Eugene Chiu is the chair of the Department of History at Tunghai University.

 

Translated by Marc Langer.

Edited December 11, 2006 by Elfenstar

[Gabriel]

bro..u r taking it too personal..

i did not mentioned that working in the construction line was SHI T..

i barely mentioned we , in sg ,got pple to do the dirty work for us...

coz most locals are foreman and above...

and wat has this got to do with paragraph 2 and 3...

think u are pissed off coz u stay in australia now and u lost touch with wat is happening is sg...

so dun come here and try to give me lecture of economy here...

unless u are here urself

[Mean76]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snfZQdYZaXU

 

Cool videos of traffic accidents in japan.

 

 

japanese drivers are not very ..... alert it seems ... all due to impatience ...

[Wayhow]

the last guy got knocked out of his car

[Ghostrider]

Let's have a twist here....changed some words.

Sorry bro Vit. No offence hor.

 

Why are Singapore gahmen so egoistic with full of pride, impatient and crude?

 

They speed, hog the democracy lane, refuse to give way to opposition, invest dangerously, refuse to give way even if you disagree and don't even heed to close the income gap.

 

They do not signal when transport fares up easily and sue even when unprovoked.

 

What is happening?

 

Why do gahmen behave this way?

 

Simple...cos most of the opposition are crap. Only a handful can make it...the rest is like....DUH ???!!!???

[Elfenstar]

Its not a personal thing with me... its more the attitude towards these jobs that pisses me off. By saying the ang mos are sxxt does it not mean that the people that do these jobs are or the places that allow their people to do these jobs are sh|t??? This attitude of status because of what you do also relates to driving (refer to my 2nd paragraph).

 

Yes the jobs are tough, but by saying the ang mo way is sh|t (refer to my third paragraph), you are fundamentally wrong.

 

Our way is sh|t because we losing jobs and money because of the bottom line foreign workers (more than middle-top end workers). And we're talking abt a few billion in dollars lost per month, but our government has no choice anyway, since nobody want to do those jobs.

 

I may not be up-to-date on news such as accidents or who was caught for shoplifting at Taka yesterday BUT I do keep myself very much in the loop on social and political matters thank you.

[Watwheels]

Why are Singapore drivers so egoistic with full of pride, impatient and rude?

 

They speed, hog the overtaking lane, refuse to give way to emergency vehicles, drive dangerously, refuse to give way even if you signal and even speed up to close the gap.

 

They do not signal, flare up easily and show vulgar signs even when unprovoked.

 

What is happening?

 

Why do drivers behave this way?

 

Did u just started driving yesterday in sg??

 

What's the big deal anyway?? U'r not sg driver meh?

 

U'r putting your foot in your own mouth.

Edited December 12, 2006 by Watwheels

[Spikedoll]

if sg drivers horn alot..go batam see how the drivers horn then you know they cannot live without horns

 

but it's their way of warning other road users of their existance...if happens in sg i think alot fights on the road liao..hehe

[Casey]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snfZQdYZaXU

 

Cool videos of traffic accidents in japan.

 

see already, really should drive carefully, but the speed they are at when approaching junction are amazingly fast

Edited December 12, 2006 by Casey

[Vit4wd]

Let's have a twist here....changed some words.

Sorry bro Vit. No offence hor.

 

Why are Singapore gahmen so egoistic with full of pride, impatient and crude?

 

They speed, hog the democracy lane, refuse to give way to opposition, invest dangerously, refuse to give way even if you disagree and don't even heed to close the income gap.

 

They do not signal when transport fares up easily and sue even when unprovoked.

 

What is happening?

 

Why do gahmen behave this way?

 

I like your refreshing creativity and great sense of humour - something very lacking in the bunch of dead wood civil servants

[Trex7764]

Ditto! Similarly in Hanoi. The purpose of their horn is to warn other road users of your presence. That's why if horn kaput, they dun drive.

[Stig]

because u is suay, encounter such driver

seriously i haven encounter such driver

 

Do you have a driver's license in the 1st place?