Outpour of Support for Petition to Remove Risky ‘Discretionary’ Right Turn in Light of Recent Fatal Traffic Accidents

In the light of three horrific traffic accidents that have claimed the lives of 5 people within one week, a Singaporean under the moniker of “Gen Y” has set up a petition to change traffic light rules to prevent further casualties.

(Image taken from change.org)

Two of the accidents, especially, occurred under eerily similar circumstances; a car turning right at a junction was slammed into by an oncoming vehicle. This has resulted in the extremely regrettable and unfortunate loss of two young ladies as well as injuries sustained by other road users involved.

Thus, the call for this particular petition was prompted.

The petition had gained approximately 4000 signatures within one day and is still picking up steam, with almost 16,600 signatures as of now. Directed towards the Group Director of Land Transport Authority, the petition requests the LTA to “determine if it is still safe to keep to discretionary turning on green given the growth in sizes of junctions” and to also “work on improving the safety of all road users.”

‘Gen Y’ reasons that with the significant widening of roads in recent years, it is difficult for motorists to have a good field of vision with so many lanes, pedestrians, mobility devices and fast moving oncoming cars to look out for. This may result in a lapse in making an informed and safe judgement and subsequently even lead to possible accidents.

Reference from this is the website.

(Image taken from HuffPost UK)

Divided Opinions:

Some have shown strong support regarding this petition, citing reasons such as safety concerns and instances of misjudgment on the driver’s part.

However, others disagreed, sharing the view that it was not the system’s fault and that road users should be more responsible.

“The cause of most accidents is not because of the traffic system but the road users themselves,” a netizen stated.

What do you think?