The New Paper
Tuesday, Jan 01, 2013
"All because I'm old and slow," says Madam Alice Ang, a 70-year-old grandmother of five. She has also been honked at often, even when the green man is flashing.
"I don't jaywalk because my reflexes are too slow to get me across the road quickly enough. "But I can tell you this: I'm quite certain I'll die in a road accident."
This heartland aunty found Madam Ang, who was one of the 45 heartlanders I randomly approached, at a Bedok North food centre on Friday.
All said that more should be done to help the elderly with regard to using pedestrian crossings. Out of those I spoke to, 37 shared either personal experiences or horror stories that they have heard.
The issue about the elderly and pedestrian crossings was not something Ground Zero had set out to do.
Our original idea was to speak to people about the Dec 22 accident at Woodlands Avenue.
A motorcyclist ran a red light and mowed down a woman. The woman, an accounts clerk, suffered broken ribs, a fractured hip and a punctured bladder and is currently warded.
But as we spoke to people, one thing began to stand out - the elderly are having problems with motorists at pedestrian crossings.
They say that even though the green man is on, motorists honk, rev engines and even yell at them to hurry up.
Madam Ang flashes a toothy grin before saying: "True lah. It sounds scary or ridiculous, but old people like me have trouble crossing the roads in time."
Her first brush with death in 2010 occurred when she was on her way home from her son's place at Sims Drive.
She recounts: "I had crossed (the road) halfway when this motorcyclist hit me.
"Luckily, he wasn't riding too fast and I only fractured my right hand because I used it to break my fall."
The second accident, which was "a little more serious", happened last year.
The green man had come on at the crossing on North Bridge Road and Madam Ang took a step forward. To her shock, she heard a loud screech and "the next thing I knew was that I was lying in pain on the road".
She was hit by a car that did not stop in time after the traffic light turned red and the green man was on.
Madam Ang says: "I think if he did not slow down (on his own) earlier, I'd not be here talking to you, young woman."
As it turned out, "it was only a hard bump" which landed her in hospital for two days, where she was put under observation for concussion. She also suffered abrasions and cuts on her hands and legs.
There were also many instances when she was honked at for taking too long to cross the roads.
"Aiyah, sometimes I wish the young drivers - anyone who is not as old as me is young - are more patient," she laments.
This is why she appreciates the Green Man Plus scheme piloted by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 2009, which allows senior citizens more time to cross roads
.
The scheme allows senior citizens to use their senior citizen concession cards to tap on card readers installed, and extends pedestrian-crossing times by between three and 12 seconds, depending on the size of the crossing.
There is one near Madam Ang's home in Bedok North.
In May, the LTA announced that the scheme will be extended to an additional 240 pedestrian crossings at 146 locations by the first quarter of next year.
It will apply to a total of 500 crossings by 2014.
Mr Soh Kek Chen, 68, who sells Big Sweep tickets part-time, makes it a point to wait for vehicles to stop completely before making his way across the road at a pedestrian crossing.
He says in Cantonese: "I've read enough reports and come across stories, so I'm extremely careful."
But being too careful has placed him on a warpath with impatient or angry drivers who find that he takes too long to cross the road.
Indeed, a few months ago, a cabby was so angry with Mr Soh that he wound down the window and shouted: "If you're so bloody old and slow, just use a wheelchair!"
"Don't waste our time."
Says Mr Soh: "He honked continuously until I made it onto the pavement."
Another action that upsets him is how motorists rev their engines, which he interprets as a means to hurry him across.
He adds: "Sometimes, I prefer to stay at home than go out."
"It's not the roads that frighten me, but the pedestrian crossings that give me the creeps."
Madam Anita Yasmin, 57, a housewife, says her sister was a "pedestrian-crossing accident victim" five years ago.
Two seconds after the green man had come on, a motorcyclist whizzed past the pedestrian crossing and hit Madam Anita's sister.
She clearly remembers the scene at the hospital's accident-and-emergency department, where "both my angry brothers punched the man".
Her sister, who was then 50, spent two weeks in the hospital for a fractured hip, and it took her another two months before she could walk properly.
Says Madam Anita: "Until today, my sister still gets the jitters when she has to cross the road."
maureenk@sph.com.sg
Ref;asiaone
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