What would you do if you saw an accident take place some distance away, while you are on a different side of the traffic junction?
It’s a fair assumption that most would drive away when the lights turned green, especially since the accident didn’t happen along or around their lane – and no one would have batted an eyelid.
Not for Stanley Raymond Oh though. The executive producer at Ideal Films knew that his vehicle’s dash cam had captured the accident and decided to stop his car by the roadside so that he could help the motorcyclist involved.
A video of the accident was uploaded onto Facebook page ROADS.sg last Thursday. The caption said that the accident occurred because a silver car had attempted an illegal U-turn on Woodlands Street 82 and the motorcyclist, unable to brake in time, collided into the side of the car.
“Stanley made the effort after witnessing this and helped the motorcyclist with video footage and advice. Many thanks to Stanley and we need more like-minded motorists like him to help each other on our roads,” the caption said. It added that Oh passed his name card to the motorcyclist, who subsequently contacted him to get the dash cam footage.
Oh also gave some advice to the motorcyclist regarding a private settlement with the driver.
As it turns out, this wasn’t the first time Oh has been a good Samaritan to others on the roads. He explained in a comment left on the post that he “always tries to help fellow road users when (he) can”.
“I’ve seen and came to believe a lot of us would rather just drive off and not want to get involved because a lot would always say ‘there will be a lot of trouble’,” Oh wrote, pointing out that he received almost no trouble for helping out the motorcyclist.
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He added that with the footage, the motorcyclist won’t have to fork out thousands of dollars for damages to the car and his own motorcycle, his medical treatment and potential loss of income. More importantly, the driver can’t make any false accusations as well.
“He could have been a friend of mine, a friend of yours, or even a son of your relative or friend. Just help lah. Don’t ever have to think too much,” Oh said.
In a subsequent reply to another comment, he said that he “loves the awesome feeling of lending a hand to someone in need and knowing that he/she received help at what could have been the darkest hour”.
His actions drew lots of praise, with one commenter writing: “Good job dude. We need more kind souls like you on the roads!” Another added: “You are a good man Stanley”.
Unsurprisingly, there were also a handful of commenters who were more interested in playing the blame game. Some suggested that the motorcyclist was at fault for trying to squeeze past the car. One even called motorcyclists “self-entitled” individuals who expect others to keep them safe.
Oh took notice of those comments, but chose to respond with kindness instead: “Don’t worry, even to those keyboard warriors here who have useless comments about the victim, I will help you too if I ever witness you in an accident on the road.”