Moments of negligence on the road can more often than not contribute to accidents—whether it is the driver or pedestrian at fault.
A woman and a school-going child being knocked down by a vehicle were caught on camera and was uploaded on the SG Road Vigilante Facebook group on 27 August 2020.
The incident, which involved a white Mazda Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV), was said to have taken place at the car park near Bukit Timah food centre.
Based on the footage, the vehicle was seen reversing into a carpark slot at a slow but steady pace, behind is a woman and a child who were presumably heading to the nearby food centre.
But something seems to have caught the attention of the woman and child hence they were looking to their left while walking forward while the car continued to reverse.
The vehicle then knocked down both the woman and the child. The impact caused the pair to fall back onto another vehicle behind them, and subsequently falling to the ground.
They managed to get back on their feet rather quickly, with the woman hitting and striking the car with her umbrella in anger.
For a brief moment, the woman tried to confront the driver of the vehicle. Shortly after, the pair were seen walking towards the food centre without showing any sign of being injured.
According to the post, the driver did not get out of his vehicle to check on whether the woman and child were hurt from being knocked down, and especially since the whole vehicle had so much sunshade which could have affected his ability to check for blind spots.
Netizens Call for More 'Situational Awareness'
Following the incident, several Facebook users have commented on the post, stating that the driver should not be blamed in this situation and that the pair should have avoided walking behind a reversing car.
It takes into consideration that "MPVs and SUVs have more blind spots, making pedestrians even harder to spot," according to user A.j. Kasetyo.
Some netizens also highlighted that fortunately, the vehicle that hit the woman and child is just a car, and not a lorry or a large vehicle, if not the consequences would have been unimaginable.
But whatever the situation is, many urge the importance of pedestrians to have "situational awareness", especially in a car park when there can be unexpected movement of vehicles.
Pedestrians were urged to be aware of their surroundings and to not assume that drivers can see them or make way for them.
Meanwhile, others said that the driver should have at least checked on the woman and child following the incident.
While we cannot pinpoint exactly who is at fault—and there is no need to—the incident is a reminder to be mindful and always be alert when on the road and even in car parks.
You can watch the full video here:
Image source: Facebook screengrab/SG Road Vigilante
ALSO READ:
Student Hit By Car Making Discretionary Right Turn