Bus Ends Up On The Wrong Side Of The Road In Bukit Panjang
Public transport commuters would surely entrust bus drivers to know the routes they ply well. However, passengers aboard bus service 972 were probably shocked when the vehicle ended up on the wrong side of a road in Bukit Panjang recently.
Bemused pedestrians filmed a double-decker bus attempting to make its way out of the situation at Jelapang Road.
As the manoeuvre was quite precarious, the bus held up traffic along the stretch of road.
Eventually, two motorists guided the bus into the right lane, where it continued on its journey.
Double-decker bus ends up on the wrong side of the road
According to a video on the Singapore Bus Drivers Community Facebook page, the incident occurred along Jelapang Road in Bukit Panjang.
The small street only features one lane for each side, so any obstruction would put traffic to a dead halt.
That was exactly the case that day, as at least four vehicles were unable to pass due to an apparent obstruction.
As the camera panned sideways, the culprit turned out to be a double-decker bus service 972 driving in the wrong lane and facing the other vehicles head-on.
Source: Singapore Bus Drivers Community on Facebook
How the bus got into this predicament is unclear, but the passengers aboard the vehicle were likely just as bewildered as the observing pedestrians.
Directly above was a traffic light indicating green, but vehicles were unable to move forward. Meanwhile, the bus captain appeared to be at a loss about what to do.
The gaps between the road dividers were too small and the driver couldn’t simply turn anywhere to give way to other motorists.
Eventually, a driver exited the car in front as if intending to help, as passengers on the upper deck watched intently.
Source: Singapore Bus Drivers Community on Facebook
The man in blue T-shirt then calmly walked up to the bus, pointed at the driver, and motioned for him to reverse down the road. A bemused spectator audibly giggled at the sight.
Even a passing motorcyclist couldn’t help but take his eyes off the road to glance over at the bizarre sight.
Bus reverses & turns into correct lane
Thankfully, the bus captain decided to heed the man’s advice and reverse, while the man in blue disappeared out of frame to the right, likely making way for the bus to turn towards the correct path.
As the bus slowly reversed down the road, the car right in front of it moved forward, seemingly encouraging the captain to continue backing up.
Source: Singapore Bus Drivers Community on Facebook
Finally, at a section further down the road before the dividers, the bus managed to turn left into the correct lane, putting an end to the standstill.
Source: Singapore Bus Drivers Community on Facebook
After making its ‘escape’, the bus proceeded along its route, much to the relief of everyone involved. Several onlookers were seen appearing amused as the double-decker bus passed them.
Source: Singapore Bus Drivers Community on Facebook
Praise for motorist who guided bus off the wrong side of the road
While the incident understandably made some viewers laughed, many others praised the driver in the blue T-shirt for stepping up and patiently helping the bus captain.
Source: Facebook
Instead of criticising the bus captain, some commenters sympathised with him and said that everybody makes mistakes.
Source: Instagram
Indeed, with many cases of road rage in the news, such as a car driver who rammed into a motorcyclist, seeing drivers keeping their cool like this is refreshing. While the time lost was possibly frustrating, no one was hurt and the situation was resolved without any disputes.
Kudos to all the motorists involved for handling the issue calmly.
MS News has reached out to SMRT for comments. We’ll update the article if they get back.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Bus Drivers Community on Facebook.
