Calvin Boo shares his thoughts

Photo contributed by folks from LCSG

‎:: This got buried in another thread on CNA, so I'm posting this here. Feel free to share it ::

Another tragic accident, and another round of flaming (and mostly baseless) criticisms flung at each other.
Honestly, I'm sick of hearing all the same self-centred arguments. The attitude of some of you out there behind the wheels of motorized vehicles are plain disturbing. To those who say cyclists don't belong on the roads, please educate yourself with the Road Traffic Act before you utter another foolish word. To those with the "I pay therefore I have the right" entitlement mindset, well, let's just say you've been taught all the wrong values, and you can blame whoever is responsible for your upbringing and education.

We can talk about rules, laws, rights, and what-have-you. We can go in endless circles debating the nuances of every letter of the law, of every parliamentary speech, of whatever is written by anyone on whatever forum, facebook page, blog and so on. But there's no winning any argument if we take the microscopic view - as the saying goes, don't lose the forest for the trees.

Personally, it boils down to this one principle - HAVE A HEART, RESPECT LIFE.
Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever your social status, whatever vehicle you are piloting, please respect life. The big must always give way to the small.

That rider on the bicycle is a human - that is a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, a living breathing seeing hearing person with father, mother, brothers, sisters, friends and many other loved ones, someone with emotions, a sum of all his / her history, someone with future. That rider is not just a cyclist. That rider could be your family, your friend, someone connected to you, someone whom you may connect with in the not-too-distant future, someone who may become a part of your life.

It doesn't matter what the law or rules says; you just have to apply simple logic - if you see a vulnerable road user, take extra caution, slow down and cause no harm; if you see one in danger, slow down, stop and do what you need to do to save a life, maybe even stop to assist.

If you lack the basic human decency to respect the law of the road and another road user's life, may the creator, the cycle of life, the power of karma -- whatever force of creation you choose to believe in -- help you, and pray hard that you or your loved ones will not fall victim to another driver with the same attitude as yours.

The powers-that-be must stop their "don't care" attitude. So many lives have been lost unnecessarily. Our roads are rarely patrolled, and reckless drivers are now running riot all over. If the laws imposed harsh deterrent mandatory jail terms, irreverent attitudes towards vulnerable road users will change. Unfortunately, the courts have so far only shown that cyclists lives are nothing but cheap. Laws protect life, laws protect the vulnerable. Stop the lip service, please get off your comfortable chairs and out of your ivory towers - it's high time to take immediate and concrete steps to stop this continuing manslaughter on our roads.

Safety and peace to all