A netizen took to Facebook to share a sight that disturbed him, a group of cyclists were seen casually biking along the side of the road, seemingly doing nothing wrong and following the traffic rules.
However, the road that they were on was a very busy one with many heavy cement trucks and buses.
He emphasised that there were “A. LOT. Of. Buses.”
He then shared that they were intentionally “squeezing” into the blindspots of the vehicles.
You can read his full post below:
“TLDR (a fact):
One tiny mistake, you lose your life, they lose their jobs
Also TLDR (an opinion, but I think it’s a bloody sensible one):
Cyclists (and I’m looking at you too PMDs) shouldn’t be on busy roads, no matter how “pro” you are, period
—–
-Case in point-
I was in 854 ytd travelling from YCK to Kembangan, and along Hougang I spotted this group of 4 cyclists casually biking along the side of the road
Nth wrong, correct?
Except for the fact that it’s a fking busy road with heavy cement trailers and buses
A. LOT. Of. Buses
-My POV with rage-
They rarely look ard them for awareness
They nvr slow down and stop before bustops to let the buses enter first
They squeeze btwn the pavement and heavy vehicles, which is the fking blindspots
-What could go wrong-
One small stumble and that’s it, your life gone, their job gone
You’re doing a pastime, they doing their jobs
You lose your life, they suffer for the rest of theirs
And best thing is? It’s their fault for “reckless” driving (coz you’re dead, we can’t blame you anymore)
It’s called a blindspot for a reason, DON’T EVEN ENTER THOSE AREAS
Heck, how abt not even going close to vehicles, let alone large ones (this ties in to my fear of riding motorcycles even tho I have a license)
-My POV with compassion-
My mindset is easy. Win-win for everyone. Best outcome possible for everybody
There’s ALWAYS a choice, there’s ALWAYS an alternative, it’s just whether you wanna take it, or fk it
I love to longboard, and gaining top speed gives me endorphins, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t respect others’ commitments in the process
I’m also a driver, army driver to be exact, I know these dangers coz I studied it, but not everyone knows
I’m actually terrified when I board on pavement next to roads coz anything can go wrong, even when I’m NOT on the road itself
Big vehicles have to swerve away to avoid you, or slow down, causing road inconvenience, delay in time, etc
Drivers have schedules to adhere to, and bus timings to respect, and they’re alr slowed down naturally by traffic, but cyclists add on to it
There was once an old granny walking in front of me carrying some plastic bags of groceries, she was walking in a straight line, but all of a sudden she leaned to the right where my intended trajectory was, and I managed to just gently brush her plastic bag twice as a result (also thanks to me not going fast). I said sorry twice bef adjusting my board and took off, but I also think in her head it’s smth like “Fking skaters”
-What could be done better-
For wheel users like cyclists, PMDs, or boarders like me, go emptier roads like Changi Coastal or Tampines Road (heck even Jalan Bahar seems like a nice alternative for westies) if you really wanna gain top speed with less risk, where there’s no bustop or traffic junction every 50m? Makes sense, right?
If you need to get to a certain location, leave earlier, take a slower pace along pavements and PCNs (yes, alongside pedestrians), and once you reach the destination, whatever go crazy
Apart from the 4 siao cyclists I saw, there are multitudes having their family time on the pavements going at slower speed, so why can’t you?
-How do we educate-
A lot of these sports enthusiasts nvr read/take highway code, and dunno how dangerous big vehicles can be, and the vast number of blind spots they have. That might actually be a good start, to let them know of these dangers (best if we can find those with pics, coz no one read text. No one)
Borrow the BTT or FTT books from someone, most ppl have it thanks to their courses (err, I lost both of mine, sorry). They might be outdated, but still better than nth
—–
K end of rant. I was fking pissed the whole time they were in my line of sight
PS. Pls pls educate your loved ones who use the road often. Keep them safe, and hopefully humane enough to understand the logic behind some rules”
Source: Mohammad Nooraidil on Facebook