I have followed with interest recent articles in The New Paper about emergency vehicles and how drivers are required to give way to them, but often may not be aware of this.
I hope these articles educate as many people as possible because I know from personal experience what the consequences of their ignorance can be.
Around 5.30pm on 6 Jun, my 23-year-old brother, who was riding his motorbike back from reservist duty, met with an accident on Stevens Road.
A kind passer-by found his handphone and got through to the family by calling the last-dialled number.
I was in the area and managed to reach the spot within 5 minutes. I found my brother seriously injured and unconscious.
Luckily there was a doctor among those who stopped to help. But my brother was in a critical state and needed to reach a hospital fast.
The problem was that it took almost 20 minutes for an ambulance to get to the accident scene. I believe it was caught in heavy traffic.
It was an agonising time, watching my brother fighting for his life. I was emotional and scared.
I was thinking, many vehicles are slowing down to look, why can't they give way to the ambulance? We needed the ambulance fast to save a life.
Once it arrived, I joined my brother on the journey to the Singapore General Hospital. And it was again an agonising wait to get there.
Many vehicles failed to give way to the ambulance, despite the siren warning them of its approach.
We were also slowed down by vehicles illegally parked on the road, even close to the hospital entrance.
It seemed like an eternity before we reached the accident and emergency ward. By this time my brother's blood pressure had dropped to zero and there was only a faint pulse.
A few more seconds and I think we would have lost him. He was in a coma in hospital for two months.
I am deeply grateful to all those who helped save his life, especially the skilful ambulance driver, the paramedics and the kind strangers at the accident scene.
But I know that if he had not pulled through, I would have blamed all the irresponsible drivers who did not give way.
Even now, whenever I see an ambulance, my heart thumps and my knees go soft. You will never know whose life is at stake.
But I also feel that it is not entirely road-users' selfishness and heartlessness that hold up ambulances. Many may not know exactly what to do.
The Land Transport Authority and the Traffic Police must ensure that all drivers on our roads are taught what to do, if necessary with refresher courses.
And there should be strict enforcement. If ambulances are fitted with cameras, those who do not give way can be punished, and they should be.
That is the least we can do for people in situations like this, when a life may be hanging in the balance.
Haffi Yenti
This article was first published in The New Paper on Oct 24, 2008.
