Of Roadblocks on a Monday Night

I was stopped at a road block last night. It was fortunate that I had refused the beer that the Warden had offered me after dinner.

There were 4 thoughts that struck me after I cleared the road block.

Firstly, the location. I have never seen a road block along Upp Paya Lebar Road before. Its too near to the Traffic Police HQ, and hence I’ve always thought there would not be a need to have one. (the roads swarm with the white bikes anyway)

Secondly, it was Monday night. I have never seen a roadblock on a Monday night. The only weekday nights I have seen roadblocks are on Wednesday and Friday nights.

Thirdly, they had a new tactic. Instead of asking you to wind down the window and trying to smell your breath by asking you some random questions, instead, they stick the breathalyser without the tube into your face, and ask you for name and IC number. If you fail, then they will ask you to step out and blow into the tube. The scary thing is that even the first cut test has now gotten quantitative.

Lastly, I was surprised that they did 100% checks. All cars, bikes and even lorries were stopped. No one was waved on.

I guess the message is that with the festive season approaching. They are stepping up their enforcement. Don’t play play. The location has become random, on any day, with 100% checks using the machines. It’s not worth it.

However, if I have one thing to add, it is that the roadblock was a TP roadblock and not a Police Division roadblock. If you ever get stopped at one, pray it’s the latter.

Drive safe!