Singapore has almost 1,000,000 vehicles (957,000 plus a few to be exact). In the mix of cars, buses, trucks, and taxis, motorcycles are outnumbered by at least 5 to 1! As a rider, I have found the only vehicle safe to approach with a premise of trust is a bus because bus drivers tend to ride to / from work. They know the odds and often are proactive at trying to make the roads a safer place. On the other hand, cars and trucks should never be trusted.
In the frequent rides in Singapore, there is always a moment of decision. Do I roll on the throttle or off? Do I speed up or slow down? Is it safe to proceed or should I avoid what is ahead?
In the past five years I have had one incident. Classically Singaporean, it was sunny, clear, and there were only three vehicles on our side of the road. One car was waiting for a safe opportunity to turn right. Another car that was behind him became impatient. As I innocently rode past on the left side, within the speed limit and in the middle of my lane, the impatient driven simply turned into me. With no awareness of my presence, no warning, and no signal and any kind, I found a car door bumping my shoulder. Not once, although I initially hoped he would notice the noise and the loud thump, a constant bump and push as he took over the spot I was in.
I was not hurt. The scooter only had minor damage. Now that months and years have passed, there are no indications except for the memories that have stayed with me. In addition to the etched slow motion images and senses in my memories of the car’s impact, I recall my prayer in the moment. “‘Oh, don’t,’ I prayed, ‘please don’t let me die. You [Divinity] have more years than you know what to do with!’” (Psalm 102.24)
In each moment the recurring thought is to live, and live with hope.
