Defensive driving courses

[bluenose]

After reading so much anti foreigner bullshit on the Ferrari incident, why does the pro-active government not introduce defensive driving courses for all as mandatory and a positive way to help this countrys appalling driving standards?
Teach defensive and less selfish driving methods?
Many big companies especially in the oil sector have these as mandatory for new hires who have to drive company vehicles....
So instead of being negative and blaming this one and that one.....be positive and everyone improve???
Obviously the locals will say they are better drivers anyway...

[sundaymorningstaple]

I wish they would just teach locals how to drive rather than aim vehicles. That would be a start.

[bluenose]

The aiming vehicles issue comes from the fact most cars are Automatic and locals have no idea behind the basic operation of gear box and other accessories like mirrors
Get from A to B quicker than anyone else is the idea here for locals?
Most locals do not even know how to change a tyre and would struggle to put fuel in the car let alone check the oil and the Ironic thing is they think their driving test and standards are higher than elsewhere
In the UK....Hazard perception is part of the test as is basic operation of the car...checking oil etc, Changing tyres

[x9200]

More over, they teach you in the local DCs some of this. This is one of the highlights from the 2B riding course I took some time ago. Imagine, one way, multilane street. You join the traffic from one side of the street (i.e. you do u-turn) with the intention to exit the street from the opposite side after 200-300m or so and crossing 4 lanes. If you want to pass the lesson and the final driving test you need to aim at your exit point and go in the straight line all the distance. No wonder why people here can not comprehend the idea of gradual multi-lanes infiltration and wait blocking the whole traffic behind until their target lane and for obvious reason all the lanes in between are empty.

[BillyB]

Do they also have to show they are able to text or use facebook on a mobile while lane changing?

[ScoobyDoes]

..... why does the pro-active government not introduce defensive driving courses for all as mandatory and a positive way to help this countrys appalling driving standards?

Sorry, but the government here has been reactionary rather than pro-active for many years.

SMRT Breakdowns / Housing Bubble / Shoebox Apartments / Traffic Congestion / Fires @ HDB Blocks / Flooding / FW being killed when transported on the back of trucks are all recent areas of topic where the government has come out and said 'We need to do something to prevent....' AFTER the fact. There seems little in the way of foresight and planning these days.

Sorting the dreadful driving standards, as taught by the schools, will only be another reaction.

Having lived around CCK before, and the nearby Bkt Batok Driving Centre, I witnessed first hand how badly (and wrongly) new drivers are being educated. Instructors are adding danger into already dangerous situations.

[bluenose]

Yep Reactive sorry...but it is more proactive than the West...Europe as they don't react at all.....
Being from the UK...the driving standards there are far higher than here and my Singaporean wife has seen it and driven in it and it is a joy compared to here....even on the M25 they are still polite!
It's all about blame here....typical corporate thinking?

[x9200]

Having lived around CCK before, and the nearby Bkt Batok Driving Centre, I witnessed first hand how badly (and wrongly) new drivers are being educated. Instructors are adding danger into already dangerous situations.

Alma Mater of my riding skills Yes, it was there and they teach you how to ride your bike mostly on practical/technical level but the connection to the traffic rules not to mention common sense is or was left far behind. This is to that extent that some people did not know that they supposed to stop at the stop sign even if there was no incomming traffic.

[Vaucluse]

I wish they would just teach locals how to drive rather than aim vehicles. That would be a start.

Indeed, indeed . . . we call it dodge-em driving. Seldom are smooth lane-changes made, instead it is the jerking of the steering wheel to the side without altering speed.

When we bought our last car I asked for a discount as I didn't want the optional extra of the indicator. The salesman was a bit flummoxed and went to ask his manager . . . he then told me that it isn't an optional extra dn that every car has it . . . to which I replied that one hardly sees them used.

Ah, a thigh-slapper that one was. Did we laugh!!!

No, we didn't.

[aster]

How do you prepare for this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZG1HgOyFkU

[sundaymorningstaple]

Very easy. If you have been trained to do it from day one. I ALWAYS look both ways before entering an intersection from a standing start, e.g., from a traffic light or Stop sign. All do from a Stop sign, but most don't bother when they get a "GREEN" light. GREEN means, disengage common sense. It's not just Singaporean who are guilty of that, most drivers around the world think everything will be okay as the light is RED for the other guys. And a car traveling at 140Km/hr should obviously be noted for it's rapid approach. I never "count" on the other driver stopping in time. Especially since the advent of cell phones. Or bad brakes. Common Sense with behind the wheel will keep you alive.

[poodlek]

Very easy. If you have been trained to do it from day one. I ALWAYS look both ways before entering an intersection from a standing start, e.g., from a traffic light or Stop sign. All do from a Stop sign, but most don't bother when they get a "GREEN" light. GREEN means, disengage common sense. It's not just Singaporean who are guilty of that, most drivers around the world think everything will be okay as the light is RED for the other guys. And a car traveling at 140Km/hr should obviously be noted for it's rapid approach. I never "count" on the other driver stopping in time. Especially since the advent of cell phones. Or bad brakes. Common Sense with behind the wheel will keep you alive.

+1...or in the event of ice or oil or water-slick roadway. As this case sadly points out, you can't ever be too careful.

In my defensive driving course I was also taught rear-crash avoidance. That is, if you're stopped at a red light and it looks like the person coming up behind you isn't going to stop, GTFO the way. There are good courses out there that cover virtually every scenario. Not that they're cheap, but they're definitely worth it! I have used the techniques to avoid three near-disasters so far.

[Splatted]

Very easy. If you have been trained to do it from day one. I ALWAYS look both ways before entering an intersection from a standing start, e.g., from a traffic light or Stop sign. All do from a Stop sign, but most don't bother when they get a "GREEN" light. GREEN means, disengage common sense. It's not just Singaporean who are guilty of that, most drivers around the world think everything will be okay as the light is RED for the other guys. And a car traveling at 140Km/hr should obviously be noted for it's rapid approach. I never "count" on the other driver stopping in time. Especially since the advent of cell phones. Or bad brakes. Common Sense with behind the wheel will keep you alive.

Learnt this the hard way one month after getting my licence... same situation as the taxi, except the oncoming car wasn't a ferrari and I was luckily able to brake on time... just.

Since then, my driving pattern changed over night.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Dat's all she takes! You were damned lucky. But makes a indelible imprint on your driving habits, that's for sure! The one's I hate are when you are at the back of a queue for the light and a car is approaching you from behind at a high rate of speed and you got nowhere to go. So just say a wee prayer that he's got good brakes AND uses them. e.g., head not buried in a freaking cell phone.

[aster]

Very easy. If you have been trained to do it from day one. I ALWAYS look both ways before entering an intersection from a standing start, e.g., from a traffic light or Stop sign. All do from a Stop sign, but most don't bother when they get a "GREEN" light. GREEN means, disengage common sense. It's not just Singaporean who are guilty of that, most drivers around the world think everything will be okay as the light is RED for the other guys. And a car traveling at 140Km/hr should obviously be noted for it's rapid approach. I never "count" on the other driver stopping in time. Especially since the advent of cell phones. Or bad brakes. Common Sense with behind the wheel will keep you alive.

I agree, I just though that this looked like a case of looking left, nothing coming, looking right, nothing there, moving forward and *BAM*!!!. It just felt like the guy literally flew in at a very low altitude and a speed of 150 knots...