Adventures in Driving

I have been driving around Singapore for about 9 months now and it seems like the right time to report on my some of my experiences. First I have to share that I'm incredibly thankful that Accenture provides us a car while we're here, as it is not a standard item included in expat packages. The lease on our car is roughly $2,000 SGD each month, including insurance ($1,400 USD) so you wouldn't want to pay that out of your pocket. With our family of 5, we definitely get out and about around the island much more than we would if we needed to take a taxi or the MRT everywhere. After all, the car, maintenance and fuel are all expensed to Accenture so I'm motivated to drive. It's also safer for the girls since they ride in car seats, unlike in taxis. Since Brian takes the bus or taxi to work, I have the car at my disposal each day and it provides such a feeling of freedom!

So now that I'm getting used to the driving tactics of Singapore, I can share some of its oddities. First, we don't have to worry much about road rage here. No one will shoot me if I cut them off in traffic. This is a relief when driving on unfamiliar roads and sometimes making illegal turns. I also don't have to be too concerned about drunk drivers because Singapore has a zero tolerance policy. You will be arrested for any amount of alcohol in your system while behind the wheel. I'm uncertain what happens to you at that point but who wants to find out?
Also, I have learned that taxi drivers will NEVER yield to other cars and allow them to come into their lane. You can use your turn signal but it doesn't matter. I now choose to reciprocate. I politely allow other cars to get in front of me on the road, unless it's a taxi. About 7 out of 10 vehicles on the streets are taxis or buses so I don't have to yield to many cars. And that probably sums up the driving culture -- it's civil but not courteous. I can live with that.

Similar to driving in France, I also have to deal with motorcycles. They ride on the road wherever they choose, which is usually on the painted lines in between lanes of traffic. They weave in and out of lanes and pull up next to me in places where I had no idea they could even fit.  I am certain I will never ride on a motorcycle while living here because those people are crazy.

At any point while driving down a street, a driver may turn on their hazards and pull over and stop. It doesn't matter how busy or major the road, if they suddenly feel the urge to stop, they'll hold up traffic in their lane. There's no honking or big production made out of it as everyone behind them just calmly pulls into the next lane. I have to confess that I have adopted this bad habit when picking up my friend Susan on our way to Pilates. It's not a terribly busy street and I at least pull over far enough that it's easy to pass me (mostly to avoid an accident) but I do it nonetheless. I will need to stop that practice when back in the States as I doubt it would work well on Preston Road.

From personal experience, I can confirm that all GPS units are not created equal. Brian's parents gave him a nice Garmin GPS for Xmas before moving here but since the Toyota has a built-in system, we have used it instead. Normally it works fine. However, I recently spent 45 minutes trying to locate a building that my GPS said was in downtown when in fact it was 10 minutes outside of downtown. Even better, the nice GPS lady was instructing me to drive through a building to get to my destination.

That brings me to my next point - it amazes me that I can still get completely lost when driving around such a small island. I can drive across the entire country in 45 minutes but I still cannot necessarily find a location that is 15 minutes from my house. There's something to be said for designing streets on a grid. And yes, it would be a good idea to get that Garmin unit up and running too.

I do like the parking garages, or carparks, as the locals call them. Given the restriced space on the island, I constantly use carparks. It is a rare occasion to park outdoors which is okay given the heat and rainfall here. When entering a carpark, it's common for them to have small lights hanging over each space: green light = available and red = occupied. So I can quickly look down a long row of spaces and see if any spots are empty instead of snaking through each level of the carpark. I love that feature.

By the time we reach 12 months of residence here, we need to take a written driving test to obtain a Singapore drivers license. Friends who have taken the test say we will need to study because the correct answers are not always intuitive. I look forward to learning what all the different colored painted lines mean on the roads. Most refer to bus lanes and when regular cars can be driving in those lanes so I just try to avoid the red lines altogether. That seems like a safe bet. I have no doubt that I'll have more to report after taking the exam as I anticipate some bizarre questions. I hope to complete that in the next month.

I know several women who have no interest in driving while they're here because they're not comfortable with driving on the left, etc. I personally think they are missing out on a glorious adventure but I guess that's one less car on the road for me to deal with. For me, driving here is not as enjoyable as Germany but who would set such high expectations anyway? But compared to the streets of Paris and Rome, I appreciate that drivers here adere to basic traffic laws. And I feel like I've mastered a new skill being able to drive on the opposite side of the road (and from the opposite side of my car!) and reverse into parking spots. I look forward to getting my new license. In the meantime, I would love a bumper sticker that reads "Warning: Expat in a Rental." It just might help me out with the taxis.