Just came back from Singapore and want to share my admiration for the bikers I saw there. Everyone seemed to be rock solid, confident and they filtered through highway traffic like a knife through hot butter.
Just came back from Singapore and want to share my admiration for the bikers I saw there. Everyone seemed to be rock solid, confident and they filtered through highway traffic like a knife through hot butter.
Ride fast or be last.
I just got back from over there myself. Most impressed with the traffic over there. Considering how crowded the roads are... drivers are patient and courteous with each other.
NZ drivers seem to have a lot more aggression in comparison.
When I was over there it seemed like every 2nd or 3rd bike I saw was an NSR.
Why have a bike in singapore, no where fun to ride it.
But yea, singapore is a beautiful city.
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Surprising and also reassuring.
Perhaps they have tougher traffic cops.
Spend more time over here and you might change your mind.
Sg has a very high bike accident / death rate. A large proportion of bikers seem to have very little awareness of their own mortality. It's 3rd world attitudes in a first world country. I still marvel at some of the antics I see. Tonight for example I watched a bike undertake 4 cars on the hard shoulder with two clear lanes on the right. He also didn't have a working tail light.
It's pretty painful getting a bike license here involving months of training, very little of it on the road and none of it at any speed. It's a graduated scheme 200cc, 400cc and open. Most don't go past the first (2b) level which in some way explains the large number of smaller bikes on the roads. Insurance and purchase costs for the larger cc bikes also contributes.
Traffic police do seem pretty much non existent. Haven't really worked that one out. The only time I've encountered them is when they are doing some kind of traffic control.
Drivers here are some of the worst I've encountered. The level of incompetence is astounding and universal. However they are consistent so very easy to anticipate. And as mentioned earlier, non aggressive and very tolerant. So despite their inability to stick to the majority of road rules it is a pretty safe place to drive / ride, once you get used to their habits.
And why have a bike? Simply the most efficient way to get around. And with temps 32C during the day to 24C at night all year round who wants to sit in a car? You have to like rain though.
They have a Police force, they are just very hard to see.
It may be your taxi driver, or the guy next to you on the MRT (commuter train) I had a great chat with the Canadian guy that worked at the Aprilia dealer on Serangoon Rd that had lived there since the early '70s.
Very interesting.
I did look that way to me too. While i was impressed with the attitude of car drivers and didn't see any dinged up cars or any car accidents... i did see a couple of motorcycle accidents.
Riders were taking their life in their hands and placing an awful lot of trust in other road users. Luckily car drivers have good lane discipline and know how to use their indicators.
And for all the mayhem and dodging on... there was no tooting horns and shaking fists at each other.
Just gonna hijack this thread a little, I have a stopover coming back from Nepal in November.
Im only there for a night and a day, anyone recommend anything?
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