Rear mirror

"REAR MIRROR" doesn't have as much Hitchcockian ring to it as "Rear Window". But it can be as scary.

Which is why a former colleague of mine, a photographer, didn't think much of the rear mirror. "Don't look behind" is his philosophy (mostly for driving, but for some aspects of life as well). He was (or still is, I am not sure) a simple fellow who believes in minding his own business.

"If it (the car behind) gets too near and hits you from behind, it is in the wrong. He (the driver) will pay for damage," he said, matter of factly.

It is increasingly hard to ignore what's going on behind you, though. There are raging drivers who believe that nosing your back bumper from just a centimeter away, would spur you to take off like a bird and drive over the roofs of the cars ahead.

It is almost impossible to drive into the main road from a small road -- because no one is going to slow down except for some rare kind soul. On top of it all, the driver behind would be blasting his horn at you. And if you look at the rear mirror, you will catch him making bad signs at you with his fingers.

And I don't know how cab drivers are able to over take so expertly. It's a big puzzlement why they don't all end up as F1 drivers. As for me, if I so much as to flicker a left or right signal, the cars on either lanes would speed up immediately, making it impossible for me to filter to the next lane.

It has become a reflex action for many drivers in Singapore to step on their accelerator on seeing flashing indicators. (Which is the reason why many motorists do not signal when they want to turn left or right. They just do it.)

So now, perhaps one can understand why ambulances have a tough time in Singapore.

The only way one could ride through the roads of Singapore stress free, would be to hire a cavalcade -- in front and behind.

Recently, I came across a picture of this photographer friend on his Facebook. He looks astonishingly young still -- and hang gliding in some Thai resort. Stress free. So I believe he is sticking to his philosophy of not looking back -- a dubiously good philosophy for most aspects of life -- besides driving.