Give Way

Give Way to YOG vehicles

Irrational comment

Plain stupid

The Youth Olympic Games in Singapore are just round the corner. There are a variety of attitudes towards this event. Some are really enthusiastic about the event, as it bonds youths from all over the world and gives Singapore a chance to flair its abilities, while others just think its just a waste of money.

For me, I am sitting on the fence, but there is one newly brewed policy I can't swallow. I might not be a driver, but I am a commuter.

Giving way to YOG vehicles you see on the road, as that helps them get to their venues on time and depict Singapore as a gracious country. And if you are caught not being 'gracious', you can get fined. The next thing you'll know is getting thrown into jail because you didn't greet a YOG star.

Like some netizens have said, road users have contributed to road taxes so I believe all have an equal right of way. Giving way to emergency vehicles are justifiable, because we are talking about the fragile border between life and death here. Giving way to buses, I suppose its rather acceptable, considering that they are constantly filtering in and out of bus stops, and if we do not give way during a peak hour, they will never get out of the bus stop, so let's be a little empathetic.

But how are YOG vehicles any different from other road users? They are practically like taxis, zooming from place to place directly, carrying HUMAN participants who are considered VIPs just because they are good at a sport. Why should anyone give way to them. I mean if I were I driver, I wouldn't overtake them and start cruising at 20mph, but I wouldn't see any reason to give way to them either. Are they explosive or what?

If they are worried of not being able to reach their destination on time, I would quote some suggestions, that they leave early, or take public transport. Considering that they aren't any auxillary police flanking the YOG buses (No I wouldn't want that), I don't think taking the public transport is much more dangerous.

If all these can't be done, then instead of taking it out on road users, we should stop inviting these major(fine, not so major), international events into Singapore. Just admit it, a country with little land space can't get any bigger than what it already is without making more sacrifices. I think wanting to increase the population to 6 million is not a really good idea, because Singapore is already crowded enough.

No matter how good our government is, ultimately we will still be weighed down by physical limitations.

So please remember not to get involved in any accident for the next few months, or you might be fined because the bus driver took a picture of you in the ambulance which did not give way to him, because you got injured at the wrong place and wrong time.