Road bully blocks SBS bus with his car
He was allegedly upset bus cut into his lane
She was having her usual weekly lunch at an eatery at Toa Payoh Lorong 4 last Saturday afternoon when an incident at a junction distracted her from her chicken rice.
An SBS Transit bus was stuck on the road, blocked by a black Honda hatchback that had stopped directly across the front of the bus.
Mrs Kaye Tan, a 50-year-old administrative assistant, said: "Based on the angle the car was positioned, I guessed that the car must have tried to cut ahead of the bus."
Another witness, sales executive Patrick Tan, 57, said the driver of the car had refused to give way to the bus.
"The bus wanted to move to the right lane to make a right turn, and the car kept honking and refused to give way. But the bus just drove past," he said.
The car then overtook the bus, cut in front of it and stopped, obstructing the bus from moving forward, Mr Tan added.
What happened next was even more shocking.
Mrs Tan said: "The driver got out of the car in the middle of the road and walked over to the bus. He knocked on the window and seemed to gesture to the bus driver to get out.
"The driver looked very angry when he came out of the car. He made a call on his phone. Despite all this, the bus driver remained in his seat and looked as if he was trying to talk to the car driver nicely."
CASE OF DISPUTE
The police confirmed that they received a call for assistance at Toa Payoh Lorong 4 in a case of dispute at 12.30pm last Saturday.
A spokesman said police officers advised both parties not to breach public peace and they acknowledged this. No further police assistance was required.
Lawyer Derek Kang, a partner at Rodyk & Davidson LLP, said: "It does not appear as if any Penal Code offence was committed by either side, so the policemen at the scene may have decided that there was no basis to investigate the matter further.
"However, the driver of the car appears to have committed one or more Road Traffic Act offences by parking at the junction. He could be prosecuted for such offences if someone makes a report to the Traffic Police and he is investigated."
Mr Tan expressed his disbelief at the car driver's action.
"It is such a small little thing. Why make life so difficult? The passengers on the bus might be rushing to appointments. He should not have done such a thing," he said.
Student Jovita Chua, 24, who commutes regularly on public transport, said: "What the car driver did was a very selfish and rash act, and it unnecessarily implicates other road users as well."
When contacted for comment, SBS Transit could not respond by press time.
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