Bridal car honked during early hours in the morning as wedding tradition, residents say it was ‘extremely selfish’

SINGAPORE: A bridal car kept honking in the early hours of the morning, causing some of the residents living on Bukit Batok Street 11 to complain that it was affecting their rest. 

The residents reported that a white BMW was parked downstairs in an HDB block and was continuously honking its horn, as if its goal was to wake up the entire neighbourhood. 

The act was believed to be a part of the groom’s wedding ceremony tradition of welcoming the bride. However, although it was a tradition, residents claimed that the behaviour was ‘extremely selfish and completely disregarded others.’

A 30-year-old resident told Shin Min Daily News that the car had been honking for up to five minutes, and she got embarrassed by the noise that was being made. 

Another resident, a 33-year-old, believed that everyone living in a multi-ethnic society should be understanding of each other’s customs and traditions. She also shared that some of the newlyweds had posted notices in the elevator before the bridal ceremony to ask for the neighbour’s understanding, which was a more considerate approach. 

“I will understand, after all, both happy events and funerals are major life events. We should be happy for the newlyweds,” the resident said. 

According to a fortune teller, the custom of honking car horns is new, and it is done to wish the bride and groom many children and a smooth life. It was believed that the bridal car honking in the HDB estate is a good omen for the wedding ceremony, but it is also disturbing to others. 

Other HDB-related complaints

In separate news, there was a recent report wherein residents complained that an HDB unit was not using the provided clothes rack properly, but instead hung bamboo poles around the rack to dry the clothes. 

This sparked concern, especially that the poles might fall and injure other residents. Read more about the story here.