Who's at fault? Lorry driver tries to block car with body at Tuas, gets hit as driver accelerates

This lorry driver's road rage may have left him with a bit of road rash.

A lorry driver tried to block a car with his body along Tuas and was hit as the driver accelerated, according to a video posted to SG Road Vigilante on Sunday (March 3).

In the three-minute video, a car cuts off the lorry driver by swerving into his lane after honking at him.

Later, both vehicles come to a stop at a traffic light and a man in a blue shirt exits the lorry to confront the car's driver.

Recording the incident on his phone, the man in blue then walks over to the car's driver-side window, audibly exchanging a few words and snapping a picture of the car plate.

As the car tries to move off, the man quickly steps in front of the vehicle, getting bowled over as the car hits him.

Unable to move forward, the car backs up, and the man quickly gets to his feet and closes the distance, preventing the car from driving away.

He then challenges the car to drive forward - and the latter does.

While the car accelerates, the man presses his back against the hood of the car, still trying to stop it from driving off.

The car eventually stops, and the man walks over to the driver-side window again.

With the man out of its direct path, the car manages to drive away while the lorry driver continues to film behind it.

Who's at fault?

Some netizens felt that it was the car driver's fault for aggravating the man in blue, claiming that he had driven "recklessly" and honked "incessantly".

"Driver speeding across junctions pretending [to be] innocent? What else [did you do] to trigger people after zooming past on the left?" One user questioned.

Some others, however, also felt that the lorry driver had his share of blame in the matter, with one even alleging that this wasn't his first time stopping his vehicle "in the middle of the road".

Many netizens also felt that both parties were at fault in this incident.

"The car driver might have done something (possibly flipping the finger) that triggered the truck driver to come down for a 'confrontation'," said one. 

"Either way both could've just moved on but I guess some people's ego just have to be fed."

Cyclist versus car

In June last year, a cyclist tried to block a vehicle from driving off by planting her bicycle in front of the car.

When the driver, Ow, got out of her vehicle to move the bicycle aside, the cyclist, Tan, opted to use her body to block the car instead.

Clinging on to the bonnet of the car, Tan refused to let go as Ow drove about 100m at about 20km/hr, only letting go after passers-by coaxed her to do so.

Tan was charged with harassment on Sept 7, 2023, The Straits Times reported.

Ow faces a short detention order and disqualification from all driving classes of vehicles, with both periods being up to the decision of the court.

ALSO READ: 'Top level of cutting queue': Man blocks car with body, forces driver to give way at Tuas Checkpoint

khooyihang@asiaone.com