This image went viral recently:
And it’s easy to understand why.
Other than looking like animals, it is a recipe for disaster should there be an accident; imagine yourself being flung left-right-centre in that enclosed space.
It doesn’t help that there’s even a video that shows how this is being built.
And it turns out that it’s not just you who think it’s not right; the authorities have stepped in, too.
MOM & LTA: Cannot Lah, Bro
The whole idea of this concept is to save costs: after all, you can transport more workers in a single trip while ensuring that safe-distancing measures are in place.
Which explains the video; it was actually made for MOM for consultation.
God wonders why it’s on social media.
Reader Bao: Because of TikTok?
Well, yes, if you’ve noticed the logo at the lower right corner.
But MOM and LTA both think that it’s not a good a good idea. They said, “MOM and LTA have collectively assessed that any sudden movement while travelling on the roads might dislodge the partitions and endanger occupants as well as other road users.
“We have informed the company of our assessment and advised them to review its plan.”
In other words, no go.
They added, “We urge companies to reach out to the authorities to seek necessary clarification on safe distancing measures for lorries.”
Company Shocked at How Viral Their “Invention” Had Become
The company in question has responded and apologised that it looked like they’ve “treated our workers as inhumane and without care.”
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They then explained their rationale: due to the safe-distancing rules, each lorry can now carry only 6 people instead of 23 people. That impacted them a lot, and so they tried out the partitioned lorry as a demo to send to the authorities for approval.
Now, they’re appealing to have 12 people in a lorry instead of 6.
You can view their apology below:
Safe-Distancing Rules While Transporting Workers
MOM has made it a requirement for employers and lorry owners to ensure their workers are seated 1-metre apart at the back of lorries since 10 April.
This is to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission, which is understandable considering the high number of infections among migrant workers.
30 companies were investigated in April for breaching these rules, so you can see why some companies are taking it so seriously now.
Now this leads to a question that everyone who’s been in the army would have: how are they going to enforce this rule in SAF 5-ton?
Some of us even sat on the floor, squeezing into the truck like how your mother would squeeze all frozen chicken into the freezer.
Are they going to deploy more 5-tons?
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If so, be prepared to see a train in PIE on the last lane.
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