PUBLISHED ONMay 28, 2024 4:33 AMByKhoo Yi-HangHe risked his life for the safety of others on the road — but was it necessary to endanger himself?
A motorcyclist stopped on the shouder of a two-lane expressway and crossed to the other lane to clear a vehicle bumper that was lying on the road, according to a video uploaded to Facebook group Singapore Road Accident on Sunday (May 26).
In the dashcam footage dated May 14, the man waits by the shoulder for traffic to clear before dashing out to pick up the bumper. He leaves it near the bushes along the road shoulder.
After waiting for traffic to die down again, the motorcyclist runs out two more times to clear the smaller debris.
Netizens applauded the motorcyclist for his actions, with many praising him as a "hero".
"Whoever this gentleman is, I hope his family knows he cleared the road for people he doesn't know and that prevented an impending accident… This is a real-life superhero," one user said.
"Wow that was risky," another commented. "But he did it to avoid others from getting into an accident. [You're a] hero and I respect... you."
However, some also felt that the man had put himself at unnecessary risk, especially on a busy expressway.
"Brother! Please call EMAS (Expressway Monitoring Advisory System) for help. Too risky to do it yourself," a Facebook user advised.
Another said: "Good efforts but honestly it is so dangerous! LTA (Land Transport Authority) has those marshals patrolling the expressway, they can stop traffic to safely remove debris and obstacles."
According to the LTA website, EMAS is an intelligent incident management tool that manages traffic along expressways.
It can detect accidents, vehicle breakdowns and other incidents, ensuring a fast response to restore normal traffic flow.
Once a traffic incident is picked up, the EMAS vehicle recovery tow truck and LTA Traffic Marshal will work together to clear an accident and bring traffic flow back to normal.
Traffic marshals are also trained in traffic control and evidence preservation for accidents involving minor injuries to improve the accident clearance time.
A similar act was also captured in Malaysia, where two men worked together to clear up debris on a highway.
Their actions were recorded in a TikTok video on May 22, which gained over 952,000 views and more than 17,500 likes.
In the clip, two men can be seen standing on the channelising lines between an expressway and an exit.
They wave their hand in the air, signalling for oncoming vehicles to slow down.
While one man in a green T-shirt and with a prosthetic leg continues to signal the vehicles, the other man makes a beeline to pick up a blown-out tyre.
Like the motorcyclist in Singapore, the men's efforts earned praise from netizens, who called them heroes.
But some felt the act was too risky. "It's one wrong step to heaven," commented one netizen.
Another said: "It's dangerous to do this, you should call authorities who manage the road or highway, they have enough equipment and skills to manage this safely.
"You have good intentions but the method isn't right."
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khooyihang@asiaone.com
