In snowy countries, people go sleighing in the snow.
In wet and humid Singapore, people slide across slippery roads instead.
On 13 January 2023, one motorcyclist emergency braked and fell off his motorcycle, skidding for about 50 metres into the distance.
It Was Raining Cats and Dogs
The accident happened at 3.45 pm on Friday the 13th. Thankfully, it was not as scary as it could have been.
It was a heavy downpour, and the roads were slippery in Jurong Town.
When the motorcyclist emergency braked at the 4-way junction, the motorcycle, unfortunately, flipped over and threw the motorcyclist overboard.
The motorcyclist slid across the asphalt road for about 15 metres like Daffy Duck from Looney Tunes.
Image: Looney Tunes / Tenor
Meanwhile, the motorcycle spun and landed within the yellow box of the junction.
Thankfully, in the clip uploaded by SG Road Vigilante, the motorcyclist appeared not to be hurt by the accident, likely due to the wet conditions on the road.
He went on a sleigh ride on the cold hard ground.
After the slide, he awkwardly stood up and had a walk of shame back to his motorcycle as if nothing had happened.
Fortunately, all the other vehicles stopped when the accident occurred, so there was no piling of cars on top of one another.
You can watch the clip here.
Netizens’ Response
The footage capturing the accident went viral online, attracting more than 54,000 views in one day. SG Road Vigilante’s Facebook post also attracted more than 494,000 views and 6,600 likes.
Netizens online watched on with glee as they found the accident funny.
Some netizens were joking that the motorcyclist was still sliding on the road until now.
Other netizens were laughing about how he still managed to turn around to look at the state of his motorcycle while he was sliding away.
Others joked that even soccer players could not have slid that far on the playing field.
What to Do If You Are Driving in the Rain
The Chinese idiomatic expression “the road is like the tiger’s mouth” is true. The roads can be dangerous, especially so in the rain. To err on the side of caution is the safer choice in dealing with wet road conditions.
If you are driving in the rain, it is crucial to slow down, especially at junctions. Wet roads reduce friction on our vehicle tyres, which makes skidding more prone.
Slowing down is especially crucial for motorcyclists, as the sudden stopping force may throw the rider overboard.
Featured Image: SG Road Vigilante / YouTube