Continuous Writing (Picture) - A Road Accident

The T-junction that I drove past every day to work along Shenton Way was in pandemonium. Traffic was busy as usual and the vehicles on the road slowed to a crawl. Though accustomed to the traffic condition, my frustrations could not help but built up when a yellow-top taxi inconsiderately filtered into my lane without giving any signal. I cursed under my breath, utterly disgusted.

The impatient taxi-driver repeated his weaving in and out 'stunt' a couple of times. Some motorists honked angrily but other than contributing to noise pollution, what could they do to this errant cabbie?

I stepped lightly on my accelerator, moving my Honda Jazz forward by a hairline. It was taking me a lifetime to get to my office. I heaved a hefty sigh and looked out of my window. Nearing a cross junction, that pesky taxi-driver made a swift bend to beat the traffic light. A black Toyota Corolla, seeing the situation, screeched to a halt to avoid colliding with the taxi. Unfortunately, all these happened too fast. Even if the Toyota reacted at breakneck speed, it could not salvage the situation.

"Bang" The car rammed head-on into the flank of the taxi. "Damn!" I cursed, my heart skipping a beat.

The impact of the collision was so great that the windscreens of both the vehicles were shattered to smithereens, raining shards of glass to the road. The bonnet of the Toyota was completely smashed. The taxi bore the brunt of the accident. It was reduced to a wreck with the body completely crushed with the licence plate dangling. The misshaped bonnet was forced open and smoke was fuming out of the engine.

Pedestrians gathered at the pavement, gawking in shock. Traffic slowed down further and almost came to a standstill. There was a sudden burst of commotion when the door of the Toyota opened slowly with the driver wrestling his way out. Once out of the car, he lay flat on the road, his face writhing in excruciating pain. To my surprise, the taxi-driver, escaped this accident unscathed. He sat next to his wreckage and was in a daze. Luckily, there were no passengers.

The cries of the ambulance tore through the air. Traffic police arrived to direct the traffic away from the accident scene. Paramedics sprang into action. The taxi-driver was lifted up and walked by a medical attendant to the ambulance. After cleaning the wound on the forehead, the Toyota driver was wheeled into the ambulance and whisked to the hospital. The police arrived shortly. The vehicles were towed away and order was restored. The crowd of onlookers dispersed.

I drove with a heavy heart to my office. The scene replayed in my mind over and over again. I was thankful the victim was not me. I was also angry with the reckless taxi-driver for endangering the lives of other road users. I hoped he would repent and learn from this accident. Would his conscience be clear if the driver could not survive the accident?

I walked into my boss' office to request for a 2-hour time-off. He probably could sense my shaken composure and readily agreed without a question.



Picture will be uploaded later...