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I came across a letter written by one Christopher Loh in Sunday Star today, pertaining to “distracting” and “realistic” sounds coming from the radio while driving. And I thought it was just me.

Some community service messages are aimed at educating people about road safety and driving courteously. And in proving their points, realistic sounds of honks and screeching tyres are used.

Personally, I have been fooled by these sounds on a number of occasions myself, especially in situations which required extra care and attention - like switching lanes during a traffic jam.

I consider myself a competent driver, and I believe that these distractions are a potential hazard to road users. A lapse of concentration, no matter how little, during critical situations may result in an ugly accident.

Of course one may argue that road users are not the only radio listeners. But I believe that the majority of listeners usually tune in whenever they’re on the road. So I think more needs to be done in allowing such sounds to be used on the radio.

Well, that aside, I admit that sometimes I also read and type SMSes while driving, so I guess I’m not much of an exemplary driver anyway.

Deng asked me some questions two days ago. Blogging has slowed down considerably on Narrowband.org (blogger’s block… :p), so tags are great to keep the blog alive!

Instructions: Please answer all questions. You may spice it up with humour, puffery or exaggeration. Nonetheless, it has to be the truth. Upon completion, please pass it on to 5 friends.

1. Your nickname that is used the most? What is the reason behind the nickname?
Narrowband. Began using it many years ago; inspired by my then-internet connection (dial-up). Our prized possession at that time was the 56K US-Robotics modem.

We had more than one of those fax modems; I remember seeing one being zapped during a thunderstorm.
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