Frens driving frenzy

Lately, my friends have been scrambling to get their hands on the much coveted driving licence. Not surprising, some of them already possessed it and are now eligible to cruise on public roads. I forsee that in the near future, there will be even more friends signing up for driving course as getting a licence is the 1st step to owning a car in their never ending 5 Cs chase. This is indeed a contrary to the past, whereby only the well to do can afford a car due to the high tax payment. Now, as singaporeans become increasingly affluent, educated and materialistic, owning a car is considered a normal and easy thing to do. Everyone in the rat race wants it.

Our dear Gahmen is not blind to this problem. They are not oblivious to the amount of cars currently present on the roads, and they just keep growing and growing. Road hogging, jams and accidents are more prevalent then ever before. Now, a trip along PIE to your destination will be more time consuming since there will be a jam on the expressway every now and then. The Gahmen has been trying to curb this problem recently by introducing more ERP gantries and capping the amount of cars that can be sold every year. Although it did help in some extent, i still believe that more and more drivers will hit the road each year, and massive crowding will inevitably arise.

Common, they always tell us to use public tranport by giving excuses like the oil shortage crisis, or that the process is cost efficient and we are doing a bid for the environment. Try telling that to a scholar or a financial hot shot to take public means and most probably they will shun you away because they are NOT going to give up their pursuit on a car. To them, a branded car symbolises elitism, power and superiority. "So what if you own a lancers, i gonna own a jaguar" is their only way of thinking sadly.

So would there be massive traffic congestion in the near future? The answer is quite obvious. Maybe the opening of the new KPE will alleviate the problem a little. But unless there is a world crisis like a sudden exhaustion of oil resources, the problem is here to stay.

I know i have been babbling on and on. This is a very random and probably my longest blog entry. It all arises because of a ride my friend gave me in his newly rented car. He had just received his licence weeks ago. My two other friends and myself in the car were admiring at his ability to control the steering wheel. To me, driving is a symbol of adulthood. Otherwise, i am still a kid if you know what i mean, a kid who is been driven around by an adult who is in actual reality my friend. That is why i am going to lay my hands on the licence no matter what. My two other friends are going to pick up driving as well due to influence.

It has just become another cheese for us rats to chase.