Road appreciation (in memory of the miata accident – originally from 24 May, 2007)

… hi there …

been a while since i’ve posted… well … hardly have time to do other things other than to work (two jobs) … and try to make a living for my other non-work related activities … (such as multi-sports, martial arts and saving for old age) …

training on a bike makes me more aware of the road situations and somehow make me a more forgiving driver (Yes i drive slower these days and look out for people on the road more) … which brings me back to the realisation that i’ve witnessed like 4 road accidents (nothing major but still a shock) in the past two weeks … yes … they involved taxis … but regularity of minor accidents in an increasingly congested singapore really suprises me … coupled with the occurance of really fast reckless drivers who seemed to owned soup-ed up cars (i used the word seemed cos some of them are bought by their parents) … well my buddhist-like rational (i am very into compassion these days) …. will put it in the way that even if we cannot do away with suffering … we can at least not let others suffer by our actions …

one such action that really gets on my nerves as a human being and as a person who is trying to be more compassionate is the case of the warehouse supervisor who took a convertible to test drive and as a result killed an innocent and a woman full of life that just happens to be serving him (as a car salesman) … clearly she does not deserve to die for his mishandling of the car … though he claim it to be no fault of his own … i personaly never drive above the speed limit at that stretch of road … knowing full well that even under ideal conditions … the wheels squeal under the steel plated surface…. they put there for a reason … the place is dangerous and is always under construction ….

oh yes … the papers wrote he felt remorseful … and yes .. all religions teach us to forgive… and the general public has been accused of wanting his blood for his rash act … but one does ponder why did he choose this path ? … was a sports car really necessary for his abilities? i do strongly believe that your peers (such as your friends) know very well how much you earn .. how much you can afford … what social status you are …. the fact that his first car was bought using his parents money and his lack of remorse somehow made it hard for people to forgive and forget …. yes … its takes a strong person to admit his mistakes and make ammends for it …. but the public has failed to see this …. and don’t let them get started on the slow action of the authorities to process this case …

my blog entries are normally funny and witty… so this is quite out of the norm …
i just feel that even a cow without sense need to talk some sense … about things like:

- living within our means
- that there isn’t a need to flaunt what you don’t have (true friends don’t find that important)
- we all make mistakes, what we do after our mistakes determine who we are
- power as much as wealth is a responsiblity, we should learn to use it wisely
- all life is precious, you social status doesn’t make you any different

in any case, i hope this case does not happen again .. and my heart goes out to those that are involved, especially to that gir’s family ( she was trying so hard to give them a better life )

Take care everyone and drive safely