Crash! Boom! Bang!

Nope... this is not a Roxette album review.

One year ago today, I met with a car accident. Not my first in almost 20 years of driving but this one shook me quite a bit. Not that an accident would actually scare me from ever getting behind the wheel of a car but the circumstances behind it.

I drive a car that looks fast but really moves like any ordinary sedan on the road. And because of the mentality of young drivers on the road these days, they have to try to out-do you - in terms of flash or speed. If they can't out-do you at one, they'll try the other. The former is relatively safe because it simply conjures the green-eyed monster. The latter, however, can lead to the loss of life or limb. Allow me to elaborate.

While heading to town this day last year, I stopped at a junction waiting for oncoming traffic to clear before making a turn into a major road. I noticed a beat-up white multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) coming to a stop behind me. Not thinking anything about it, I continued to watch for oncoming traffic. A few seconds later, the vehicle that had stopped behind me overtook and stopped on my left. Again, I didn't think much about it and assumed that he was in a hurry.

When traffic cleared, I made my turn and so did the other driver. As I sped up on the clear path, this driver cut into my path from the left to the extreme right side of the road. I slowed down to give him way only to realise that he decided to slow down to a crawl. I was in no hurry so I followed him at the snail's pace he was driving at. Shortly after, he sped off and I continued on my journey. About a minute later, cutting across three lanes of traffic into my path again was the same beat-up white MPV. This time, I had to jam my brakes hard to avoid a collision. The driver proceeded to travel at snail's pace again in an attempt to slow me down. Again, I repeat that I drive a car that looks fast but does not get anywhere fast.

As we approached a bend, he sped off again. I shook my head and continued. I approached a traffic light and noticed that I had stopped beside him. When the lights turned green, I sped up and moved off. Mr Beat-up White MPV chased after me and overtook. That beat-up MPV could really gallop. And anticipating his predictable act, I prepared my foot on the brakes. True enough, he swerved in, narrowly missing the front right corner of my car. I sounded my horn loudly at the driver for his dangerous and inconsiderate act. For this, he responded by slamming on his brakes and my car landed straight into his rear bumper. Fortunately for me, I already had my foot on the brakes or the collision would have been far worse.

I got down and approached the driver, who turned out to be a military man in full uniform! I thought to myself "How can a man entrusted by our Government to protect the country and its citizens endanger the life of a civilian motorist?". Having served in the army myself, I knew what wearing a military uniform bearing our country's insignia meant. When I told him about his dangerous manoeuvers, his casual reply was "It doesn't matter what you say. You collided into me so you're at fault."

This was not far from the truth. According to insurance companies' representatives I spoke to, this appears to be the standard practice. A lawyer acting for my insurance company said that our Courts operate on the same premise. Knowing full well of his position of power in that situation, Mr Beat-up White MPV endangered my life, inflicted damage to my two year old car and was expected to get away with it. As a result of these unwritten 'rules', people have started advantage of this. Cars that require extensive 'rear cosmetic surgery' recklessly overtake unsuspecting innocent drivers and slam on their brakes to cause a collision. With the insurance payout, the "victim" gets to update his car.

We often talk about how crime rate is very low here and how our country is safe. But everyday, I am sure that at least one motorist faces an "attempted murder" and because everyone turns a blind eye, the perpetrator gets away scott-free. One word describes the situation - Disgraceful.

One year on, my insurance company is still fighting the case as, unknown to Mr Beat-up white MPV, the way the cars collided does indicate that he had cut into my path. He thought he was going to get away with this easily. Little did he know that I am not one to back down especially when the accident was caused intentionally.

If I have learnt anything from this incident, it is that people are generally self-serving and if they can take advantage of a situation or another human being, most will not pass up the opportunity.

Drive safe everyone, wherever you are. Although there are still decent people out there, you'll never know who you'll encounter or what their intentions are.