your OTHER hobbies!

Having cloudynights? Take a sip of coffee and let's chat about other things around us. From food to games, this is for all the off-topic chat.
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Jingguo
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Post by Jingguo »

hi guys. my other hobbies are 1) photography 2)surf web esp google earth 3)gaming. Gears of war is a fun game. try it out!!!
branzzz
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Post by branzzz »

being a road cyclist myself, i agree with the drivers here that many cyclist think they're immune to traffic signs. i make it a habit of following all traffic rules all the time(cos i'm a learning driver myself). ironically, the more experience i get cycling on the road, the more i think i should stop road cycling totally.

anyway, would like to ask drivers here what they think of this:

if you are a cyclist on the road, would you keep to the extreme left, if possible on the double yellow lines all the time and let vehicles pass very close to you,with drivers themselves being unaware of the very close clearence

or, use at least the inner 1/3 of the left most lane and at least let drivers know that in order to pass they'd have to over take cleanly?

this is assuming that the cyclist is plainly visible and is travelling at a good 35km/h
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Canopus Lim
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Post by Canopus Lim »

Being a cyclist and a driver, I can only say that cycling in Singapore is condemned by road users and pedestrians. By law, the cyclist can get fined for cycling on the pavement and on the road the cyclist gets killed by the vehicles.

In the past I used to cycle all the time for transportation reason. I cycle on the extreme left as close to the kerb as possible. It is quite safe if you are cycling with wide tyres like a mountain bike due to the many drains on the road. However, the danger is usually not the cars but the buses. Bus drivers being always on the left lane love to go so close to the cyclist. There were instances that I was really forced to the corner of the road, and the bus is very long. If I were to make a mistake or if the bus driver makes a mistake, I could have been killed.

Singapore road is totally not designed for cycling. The roads are narrow and there are no bicyle lanes unlike in USA. I actually prefer to cycle on the pedestrian path because it is much much safer. However, due to some people who 'spoil market', it is against the law to cycle on pedestrian paths. However, I would still take the risk of cycling on pedestrian paths unless the road is clear of vehicles (like at night). Even at night it may not be safe because of drunk drivers and there are newspaper reports of professional cyclists killed by drivers at night.

Being a driver, I personally dislike people who cycle on the righthand side of the traffic. These people who are usually foreigners do not put on blinking lights and frankly they are hard to spot at night cycling. It becomes even more dangerous because they are cycling on the overtaking lane where the cars are the fastest. There are cyclist who cycle on the left lane but they do not know how to cycle in straight lines and they take up too much of the lane. These are also dangerous. The worst thing is that a lot of cyclist do not have blinking lights.

To cycle safely, the best is still to cycle on the pedestrian pavement in the day. It would be good if the Government can divide the pavement for pedestrian and cyclist. At night, cycling on the road is fine but keep to the far left for safety and have blinking lights at the rear.
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jermng
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Post by jermng »

that person behind you or I in the fast lane who wants to go faster may *need* to go faster - it could even be a medical emergency
Just to be a little clearer, even police, civil defence and medical vehicles are only allowed to go a certain percentage (most of the time only up to 130% depending on situation except in very critical situations - e.g. VVIP car chased by assasins) above the speed limit.
Even then, they are required to switch on their blinkers AND sirens.

Therefore, if you drive above the speed limit for a personal medical or other emergency, it is still against the law. Not only is it illegal it is also causing danger to other road users especially if they are not paying as much attention to you compared to a vehicle with blinkers and siren on.


At Deepakrn's defence, it IS 'illegal' to block other road users on the extreme right lane ( no matter what speed you or they are going). You can be summoned for 'inconsiderate driving' or 'driving without due care for the safety of other road users'.

What you are "supposed" to do is to overtake on the right lane, then when it' safe, go back to the centre lane. If everyone follows that, the right lane will be free for other road users to overtake.
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deepakrn
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Post by deepakrn »

jermng wrote:
that person behind you or I in the fast lane who wants to go faster may *need* to go faster - it could even be a medical emergency
Just to be a little clearer, even police, civil defence and medical vehicles are only allowed to go a certain percentage (most of the time only up to 130% depending on situation except in very critical situations - e.g. VVIP car chased by assasins) above the speed limit.
Even then, they are required to switch on their blinkers AND sirens.

Therefore, if you drive above the speed limit for a personal medical or other emergency, it is still against the law. Not only is it illegal it is also causing danger to other road users especially if they are not paying as much attention to you compared to a vehicle with blinkers and siren on.


At Deepakrn's defence, it IS 'illegal' to block other road users on the extreme right lane ( no matter what speed you or they are going). You can be summoned for 'inconsiderate driving' or 'driving without due care for the safety of other road users'.

What you are "supposed" to do is to overtake on the right lane, then when it' safe, go back to the centre lane. If everyone follows that, the right lane will be free for other road users to overtake.
True, thank you, that's what I was "driving" at. :)
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weixing
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Post by weixing »

Hi,
At Deepakrn's defence, it IS 'illegal' to block other road users on the extreme right lane ( no matter what speed you or they are going). You can be summoned for 'inconsiderate driving' or 'driving without due care for the safety of other road users'.
Do you mean if driver A is driving at 90km/h (assume speed limit at 90km/h) at the right lane and a car behind driver A is going faster than that and driver A need to give way to him or driver A will be summoned for 'inconsiderate driving'?? That's not logical and unfair unless the right lane don't have a speed limit... Also, please note that it's not driver A that not willing to drive faster than 90km/h, but the law forbid it. Hmm... so in this case the driver get punish because he follow the law??? Hmm... now I know the reason when I saw cars speeding in convoy at the right lane... ha ha ha :P :P :P

Have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
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hommel
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Post by hommel »

weixing wrote:Hi,
At Deepakrn's defence, it IS 'illegal' to block other road users on the extreme right lane ( no matter what speed you or they are going). You can be summoned for 'inconsiderate driving' or 'driving without due care for the safety of other road users'.
Do you mean if driver A is driving at 90km/h (assume speed limit at 90km/h) at the right lane and a car behind driver A is going faster than that and driver A need to give way to him or driver A will be summoned for 'inconsiderate driving'?? That's not logical and unfair unless the right lane don't have a speed limit... Also, please note that it's not driver A that not willing to drive faster than 90km/h, but the law forbid it. Hmm... so in this case the driver get punish because he follow the law??? Hmm... now I know the reason when I saw cars speeding in convoy at the right lane... ha ha ha :P :P :P

Have a nice day.
I've always ponder over this question on right lane driving whether to give way to the driver behind me travelling at higher than the speed limit, but most of the time i"ll give way. The speed limit is just a guideline, if the driver have some emergencies or gung ho enough to exceed the limit set so be it, I'll just give way. But if they behave aggressively and start flashing their headlights then its a different story.
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weixing
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Post by weixing »

Hi,
The speed limit is just a guideline
I don't think the speed limit is a guideline. See below from SPF website:
The penalties for speeding are as follow:
* Exceeding speed limit for vehicle/road by 1 to 20km/h
o 4 demerit points
o Fine of $130/- for light vehicle and $160/- for heavy vehicle.

* Exceeding speed limit for vehicle/road by 21 to 30 km/h
o 6 demerit points
o Fine of $150/- for light vehicle and $180 for heavy vehicle.

* Exceeding speed limit for vehicle/road by 31 to 40 km/h
o 8 demerit points
o Fine of $170/- for light vehicle and $200/- for heavy vehicle.

* Exceeding speed limit for vehicle/road by 41 to 50 km/h
o 12 demerit points
o Offender will be prosecuted in Court.

* Exceeding speed limit for vehicle/road by 51 to 60 km/h
o 18 demerit points
o Offender will be prosecuted in Court.

* Exceeding speed limit for vehicle/road by more than 60 km/h
o 24 demerit points
o Offender will be prosecuted in Court.
Have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
:mrgreen: "The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." :mrgreen:
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Airconvent
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Post by Airconvent »

I disagree about giving way to speedsters.
If I am travelling at 110km on the outermost lane and some ah beng flashes me..he can go on flashing for all I care.

The speed limit is there for a reason..its the speed limit!
Of course all of us have occasionally exceeded the limit but we do so at our own risk. "Trying to overtake" is not a valid excuse in the court of law for exceeding the speed limit. Imagine being charged in court for road hogging at 120km/h! That would be an interesting case. Road hogging means you are travelling below the speed limit and a car behind you also within the speed limit catches up with you and you do not give way.

All cars are designed to go well beyond the speed limit, that's true but whatever the safety features available, be it ABS or whatever, all these are supposed to reduce the impact by around 30km/l max. They depend on the driver having common sense maintaining a save distance to do the rest. If you speed at 150km/h and tail gate, no airbag or abs will be able to save your life on impact. If it were true, then Princess Diana would be alive today.

I think a driver has a responsibility not only to himself or his family but to those others on the reoad also.

BTW, this is getting off topic, so I will start a new thread instead.

cheers
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river
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Post by river »

Hobbies, yes I had many, that's before I got a baby...

collect First Day Cover, sports, keep Fish and animal, some out door advantures, chess etc I had great time then... that's during my school days...

other than astronomy, I spend more time with my family now. It is good to keep at least one hobby at all time, some thing that make you relax and smile.
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