Singaporean Driver Allegedly Shows Middle Finger To Ambulance After Not Giving Way
The protocol for when an ambulance is ferrying an urgent case to the hospital is well-known, or at least we assume that’s the case. Drivers give way by pulling up to the side of the road so that the ambulance can pass.
Some drivers apparently did not receive the memo, as a patient’s daughter found out on 9 Oct (Wed).
Cham Ai Hui, a 41-year-old teacher, took to Facebook to post about her experience with a Porsche driver who not only reportedly ignores the ambulance her sickly father was on, but also hit them with the middle finger as they drove past.
Like, rude.
Luckily, the incident has a somewhat good ending.
Patient was on a private ambulance
Lianhe Zaobao reports that an 82-year-old with cancer had been in St. Andrews Community Hospital but had to be moved to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for emergency treatment as he was not responding.
Due to the nature of the emergency, a private ambulance had to be called.
The journey was initially smooth, as drivers gave way whenever they saw the ambulance approach.
Porsche driver stopped them from advancing
However, when they approached a Porsche driver, she allegedly did not give way even after emergency sirens and headlights were deployed by the ambulance driver.
Yet, the Porsche driver appeared to not care and stood her ground in not letting the ambulance pass.
Frustrated at not being able to proceed, the ambulance driver told Ms Cham to take a picture of the driver to make a report later, which she did.
Eventually, the ambulance driver found a path through and overtook the driver — but when they were driving past, according to Ms Cham, they were treated to the sight of a middle finger from the unrepentant driver.
Always remember to give way to emergency vehicles on the road
Thankfully, the delay was not significant enough to be fatal, and 20 minutes after the incident, the ambulance arrived at the hospital, where the patient was diagnosed with a stroke.
A stroke, if left untreated, can be life-threatening, as oxygen supply to the brain is cut off during this time.
According to Ms Cham in the comments of her post, the ambulance’s camera captured the incident and the driver has been fined S$400 by Traffic Police after a report was made.
It is an offence under the Road Traffic Rules to not give way to an emergency vehicle.
Ms Cham had taken to Facebook to remind netizens to be considerate and empathetic – neither of which seems to describe the driver from her account.
We at MS News would also like to offer the same reminder in all aspects of life.
Featured image adapted from Facebook and Comfort Ambulance. Image of ambulance used is for illustration purposes only.
