THEY were on their way to dinner and travelling along the East Coast Parkway (ECP) towards the city. Mr Randal Leau, 44, was driving his family on his blue Toyota Altis on the outermost lane when he approached the back of a "slow-moving" car.
Wanting to speed up his journey, the insurance agent flashed his high beam to alert the car in front.
It marked the start of a frightening three-minute ride for the driver of 24 years, his wife, 44, an insurance agent, and their two teenage sons.
Mr Leau called The New Paper to air his grievances over what happened last Saturday.
He said: "It was obvious the driver in front of us was trying to pick on us on the road.
"Not only did he hog the first lane, he stepped on his brakes abruptly so I had to jam-brake as well. When I tried to overtake him on the left, the driver sped up to prevent us from doing so."
He was on his way to a wonton noodle stall at Still Road after picking up his younger son, a 14-year-old student, from Changi Airport Terminal 3 at around 8pm.
His son, a Boy Scout, was returning from a four-day trip in Hong Kong and the family had planned to spend some time together that evening.
As Mr Leau's vehicle cruised along the ECP, a Saab sedan, which he estimated to be travelling at 70kmh on the overtaking lane, allegedly blocked his path.
Mr Leau said he was driving at about 90kmh and had to slow down.
He said: "I didn't think anything was wrong at first, so I waited patiently behind his car even though he was driving very slowly.
"After a while, I flashed my high beam once to signal him to speed up. But the moment that happened, the driver immediately jam-braked.
"Fortunately, there was no accident. That was when I realised the driver had been playing around with us deliberately."
He later gave The New Paper three video clips of the incident, taken with his in-car camera. The footage shows the sedan car jam-braking at least three times.
In the first clip, Mr Leau's car is seen directly behind the Saab sedan for about one minute.
Hogging
Other vehicles are seen travelling at a faster speed on the left, overtaking the two cars which are on the first lane.
Mr Leau said: "The fact that other cars on the left were much faster clearly suggests that the sedan was hogging the overtaking lane."
But the unspoken tension grew as they continued down the expressway.
When Mr Leau decided to overtake the car on the left, the car sped up, only to slow down again and jam-brake at least once more.
Mr Leau said: "It was scary because we didn't know what his real intention was. I was with my family and we were all very worried. We were well-belted up, but the jam-braking along the expressway was still a scare."
In the end, the Saab driver exited the ECP into Bedok, cutting across three lanes to filter out of the expressway, as shown on the third video clip taken by Mr Leau.
Mr Leau exited at Marine Parade before resuming his dinner plans.
A lawyer TNP spoke to said this appears to be a case of driving without reasonable consideration for other drivers on the road.
Mr S Balamurugan of Straits Law Practice said: "There's some hostility in the situation. The driver at the front may have felt that the car behind him was too close.
"The other driver was obviously irritated that the front driver did not give way to vehicles moving at a faster speed."
He said the incident could have been handled better.
"The driver at the back should have slowed down, filtered out of the overtaking lane to another lane instead of immediately trying to overtake from the left."
According to the police, road hogging refers to driving at unreasonably slow speeds on the roads, particularly along the centre or rightmost lane, thereby obstructing other road users.
A person convicted of road hogging will be issued four demerit points under the Driver Improvement Points System.
Those found guilty of road hogging can be fined up to $1,000 or three months' imprisonment.
A $2,000 fine or six months' imprisonment is issued for a second or subsequent offence.
Wanting to speed up his journey, the insurance agent flashed his high beam to alert the car in front.
It marked the start of a frightening three-minute ride for the driver of 24 years, his wife, 44, an insurance agent, and their two teenage sons.
Mr Leau called The New Paper to air his grievances over what happened last Saturday.
He said: "It was obvious the driver in front of us was trying to pick on us on the road.
"Not only did he hog the first lane, he stepped on his brakes abruptly so I had to jam-brake as well. When I tried to overtake him on the left, the driver sped up to prevent us from doing so."
He was on his way to a wonton noodle stall at Still Road after picking up his younger son, a 14-year-old student, from Changi Airport Terminal 3 at around 8pm.
His son, a Boy Scout, was returning from a four-day trip in Hong Kong and the family had planned to spend some time together that evening.
As Mr Leau's vehicle cruised along the ECP, a Saab sedan, which he estimated to be travelling at 70kmh on the overtaking lane, allegedly blocked his path.
Mr Leau said he was driving at about 90kmh and had to slow down.
He said: "I didn't think anything was wrong at first, so I waited patiently behind his car even though he was driving very slowly.
"After a while, I flashed my high beam once to signal him to speed up. But the moment that happened, the driver immediately jam-braked.
"Fortunately, there was no accident. That was when I realised the driver had been playing around with us deliberately."
He later gave The New Paper three video clips of the incident, taken with his in-car camera. The footage shows the sedan car jam-braking at least three times.
In the first clip, Mr Leau's car is seen directly behind the Saab sedan for about one minute.
Hogging
Other vehicles are seen travelling at a faster speed on the left, overtaking the two cars which are on the first lane.
Mr Leau said: "The fact that other cars on the left were much faster clearly suggests that the sedan was hogging the overtaking lane."
But the unspoken tension grew as they continued down the expressway.
When Mr Leau decided to overtake the car on the left, the car sped up, only to slow down again and jam-brake at least once more.
Mr Leau said: "It was scary because we didn't know what his real intention was. I was with my family and we were all very worried. We were well-belted up, but the jam-braking along the expressway was still a scare."
In the end, the Saab driver exited the ECP into Bedok, cutting across three lanes to filter out of the expressway, as shown on the third video clip taken by Mr Leau.
Mr Leau exited at Marine Parade before resuming his dinner plans.
A lawyer TNP spoke to said this appears to be a case of driving without reasonable consideration for other drivers on the road.
Mr S Balamurugan of Straits Law Practice said: "There's some hostility in the situation. The driver at the front may have felt that the car behind him was too close.
"The other driver was obviously irritated that the front driver did not give way to vehicles moving at a faster speed."
He said the incident could have been handled better.
"The driver at the back should have slowed down, filtered out of the overtaking lane to another lane instead of immediately trying to overtake from the left."
According to the police, road hogging refers to driving at unreasonably slow speeds on the roads, particularly along the centre or rightmost lane, thereby obstructing other road users.
A person convicted of road hogging will be issued four demerit points under the Driver Improvement Points System.
Those found guilty of road hogging can be fined up to $1,000 or three months' imprisonment.
A $2,000 fine or six months' imprisonment is issued for a second or subsequent offence.
