About two weeks ago, I had to bring my dad who is 79 years old and not able walk on his own, by Ambulance to National University Hospital (NUH). He had a wound on his left heel which did not heal quickly (it has been more than three weeks) and I was advised by my friend who is a Doctor to bring him in to NUH.
So I got a private ambulance from Serangoon North. From the time we reached the expressways, there was jam everywhere, from the Central Expressway (CTE) to Ayer Rajah Express (AYE). The Ambulance driver and assistant were great. They took care of my dad very well. But what irked me were the car drivers who refused to give way. It was not an emergency case but the driver had turned on the lights (but not the siren) to alert drivers to give way. But to my utter disgust, the drivers remained on lane one without giving way. Some for as long as 5km. This happened both on the way to and back from the hospital.
According to the Ambulance Driver this was common even for emergency cases where drivers block the way and the Ambulance Drivers even get reprimanded on STOMP for going at 80km/hr. How are Ambulance drivers supposed to save lives if they get blocked by errant drivers and at the same time observe speed limits.
If you have friends and family members who drive, please advise them to give way to ambulances. It could be your loved ones or friends who may need to rush to the hospital and you may not like to face a similar situation especially if it is an emergency.
Drivers, please be considerate. Please pass on the message so that we can save more lives.
Have a Great Day!
Regards,
Mark
