Pavlov's Dogs

xandersdad1 · Post by **xandersdad1** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:52 am

I've been living in Singapore for a little over a year. I refuse to drive because I am subject to extream road rage. I love public transportation and walking, but I have one problem with walking on the sidewalks here. I get tired of hearing those damned bicycle bells. It's called a sideWALK, not a sideBIKE! Just like Pavlov's dogs would salivate whenever they hear a bell, I find that any bell gets me into an annoyed state.

offshoreoildude · Post by **offshoreoildude** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 1:38 pm

At leas they ring the bells. Although technically illegal a lot of bike riders use the sidewalk as the roads are demonstrably fatal to bike riders.

nutnut · Post by **nutnut** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 3:11 pm

Yep, the roads are mental, the typical Singaporean mentality is "I pay more road tax than you, so I can run you over" It's horrible! You will see some pavements are split for PCN and people, but most are for pedestrians only! I use the pavements when biking, it's the only way to avoid getting killed!

Darthcoder · Post by **Darthcoder** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 3:17 pm

This is pretty much how it goes (People driving cycles/bikes on sidewalks) and is much worse where I come from lol so I dont mind it. The only solution is getting used to it I guess and chilling/having a beer whenever you get angry

Post by **nakatago** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 3:36 pm

nutnut wrote:Yep, the roads are mental, the typical Singaporean mentality is "I pay more road tax than you, so I can run you over" It's horrible! You will see some pavements are split for PCN and people, but most are for pedestrians only! I use the pavements when biking, it's the only way to avoid getting killed!

Guilty too although I can ride my bike slow such that people are surprised IF they turn around to see I'm actually on a bicycle. (They have right of way so I just 'walk' my bicycle along if they're really slow). I only ring my bell if they're holding a symposium on the sidewalk and there's no way of me passing while pushing my bicycle or a group decides to block the entire width of bicycle path while walking very slowly like in they're in some video montage or something. But if they're walking normal stride, I let them be since I'm not supposed to be there anyway.

I've tried taking my bicycle along some PCN's and it's ridiculous that they expect you to carry your bicycle across very high overpasses just so you could go on. In Japan, some over passes have a strip of ramp on the steps so that people can push their bicycles. I've only seen one such overpass here but when I got on the other side, it was a dead end because they decided to practically obliterate that section of park connector.

I don't like cycling on the road here (but I do anyway) because I like living.

xandersdad1 · Post by **xandersdad1** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 3:41 pm

It wouldn't be so bad if do many people wouldn't have almost run over my toddler. They expect him to move. Not all of them, but enough to annoy me. I only got angry when one of them hit me, but it turned to laughter when after hitting me the guy wrecked.

Post by **nakatago** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 3:43 pm

xandersdad1 wrote:It wouldn't be so bad if do many people wouldn't have almost run over my toddler. They expect him to move. Not all of them, but enough to annoy me. I only got angry when one of them hit me, but it turned to laughter when after hitting me the guy wrecked.

That's a valid complaint then. But now, you know their weakness--physics!

nutnut · Post by **nutnut** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 5:31 pm

Agreed, I'd be very annoyed if they were so close to my kids, I'd possibly push them off and swear at them!

When I cycle and people are in the way, if they don't move before I get near them I am very cautious, I tend to favour the PCN rather than the pavements anyway, I only cycle for exercise rather than transportation, so I can choose quiet routes.

It needs to be a two way street though, folk should be aware of bikes and bikes aware of folk otherwise it will all end in tears!

Post by **nakatago** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 5:41 pm

nutnut wrote:It needs to be a two way street though, folk should be aware of bikes and bikes aware of folk otherwise it will all end in tears!

People in Singapore seem to have a hard time seeing things from other people's perspective though---in more ways than one.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 6:01 pm

I didn't thing the sotong had any perspective in the first place. That's why they are called sotong.

v4jr4 · Post by **v4jr4** » Mon, 27 Aug 2012 6:11 pm

nakatago wrote:
xandersdad1 wrote:It wouldn't be so bad if do many people wouldn't have almost run over my toddler. They expect him to move. Not all of them, but enough to annoy me. I only got angry when one of them hit me, but it turned to laughter when after hitting me the guy wrecked.
That's a valid complaint then. But now, you know their weakness--physics!

Especially for high-speed daredevils. Treat yourself with a big yawn, spread your arms, and voila!

xandersdad1 · Post by **xandersdad1** » Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:48 pm

v4jr4 wrote:
nakatago wrote:
xandersdad1 wrote:It wouldn't be so bad if do many people wouldn't have almost run over my toddler. They expect him to move. Not all of them, but enough to annoy me. I only got angry when one of them hit me, but it turned to laughter when after hitting me the guy wrecked.
That's a valid complaint then. But now, you know their weakness--physics!
Especially for high-speed daredevils. Treat yourself with a big yawn, spread your arms, and voila!

I might just take that advise to heart.

the lynx · Post by **the lynx** » Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:52 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:I didn't thing the sotong had any perspective in the first place. That's why they are called sotong.

And they have adjective for that --- BLUR sotong!

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