SINGAPORE: Videos of two incidents of people blocking the road, and in one case, not even letting vehicles pass, have spread on social media lately, leading netizens to wonder why people are acting so entitled and selfish these days.
One video was posted on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Oct 13 (Sunday). It showed people taking their sweet time walking from one part of the street to another and not using a pedestrian lane.
The post author, Coral Ting Hoh, called them “self-entitled pedestrians” and added, “You are not the only road users; please don’t take it for granted this is not a zebra crossing.”
Judging from the reactions to her post, many netizens agreed with her.
In the other video, posted on Facebook and YouTube and shared on Reddit, a cyclist used a zebra crossing at Anchorvale but refused to budge in front of a Grab car, reportedly for around 20 minutes.
The cyclist dismounted, leaving his bike in front of the car, and proceeded to confront the Grab driver. An argument between the two ensued.
Unfortunately, this held up all the vehicles behind the cab, which ended up forming a queue.
“Yesterday, one of my friends who drove Grab got delayed by this cyclist.
Even though my friend stopped, (the cyclist) stopped his bicycle in the middle of the road, which caused this huge traffic jam from afternoon till night,” wrote a Facebook user named Ronn Teo on the Complaint Singapore group page.
He claimed that the police arrived but took no action against the cyclist. He then asked what other netizens would have done if they had been the driver.
Some commenters on the videos observed that the number of pedestrians who act in an entitled manner has increased these days.
“Too many such cases nowadays,” one wrote. “Many assumed cars would slow down for them, crossing the main road, so they just walked slowly even though the car was nearing,” another complained.
In the video showing the cyclist who refused to move, many commenters blamed him for inconveniencing others. “This cyclist needs to be heavily fined or best jailed for creating public disorder,” wrote one.
Others allegedly held the Grab driver somewhat responsible, with a commenter saying he disregarded other road users.
Read also: Illegal motorcycle parking blocks wheelchair & stroller users from using pedestrian ramp