Wednesday, December 3, 2014

AHTIPC





Sunday, October 19, 2014

HYUNDAI GENESIS 3.8

Leading motoring magazine Torque features the new 3.8-litre Hyundai Genesis as its cover story for this month's issue.  

The car was test driven by 3 drivers representing their respective age groups.  

For this photo-essay, I snapped the following pictures at Dempsey Hill. 

Note the front anti-collision sensor (just above the number plate) which is well camouflaged by the top second and third row of the grille. 

Rear view of the car reveals traces of Hyundai's current DNA. 

On the move, the rear seat offers slightly better ride comfort.  

The winged logo of the Genesis is widely deployed throughout the car. Hence the car is often mistaken as a Bentley or an Aston Martin. 

However, the Hyundai logo can be spotted at the bottom corner of the car windows and the engine cover. 

"The Genesis is impressive - it drives well and looks great".  Check out page 34 of Torque Oct 2014 issue for my full comment on the new Genesis.

Monday, May 26, 2014

CANBERRA ROAD SAFETY CAMPAIGN 2014

The Canberra Road Safety Campaign was officially launched by Grassroots Adviser Dr Lim Wee Kiak on 5th May 2014 at Northoaks Primary School.  Dr Lim is seen here chatting with Mr Tan Teng Lip (SMSA President), Bingo (with helmet) and Mr Peter Burns (FleetSafe Asia).


For this year's campaign, the objective of SMSA Mobility and Road Safety Commission is to demonstrate and educate young children on the various blind spots of a heavy vehicle. As exemplified in the picture below, the motorcycles are in the blind spots of the truck and hence cannot be seen by the truck driver.

However, it will be too challenging for us to arrange an actual truck into the school premises and carry out the exercise.  Hence, with the help of Karl Daruwalla, Paul Lincoln and Peter Burns, we created a prop (shown in the picture below) that's not only portable but could be erected within minutes!

For our demonstrations, Peter was the presenter while Carmen played the  role of the truck driver.  A webcam was mounted on her head for the purpose of transmitting live feed to a connected projector. This in turn enabled the audience to witness the exact view from the driver's perspective.

Bingo would then move around the truck to illustrate where the various blind spots are to the audience i.e. areas that were not visible to the driver. 

Last Friday, our team conducted its 2nd demonstration at Wellington Primary School where I was warmly greeted by the Principal, Mr Gary Tsu (center).  I was also pleasantly surprised to have the Road Safety team from Traffic Police Department and their Commanding Officer DSP Soh Wan Khuan (left) there to watch our demonstration.

This morning, we witnessed the largest turnout (more than 1,500 students) for our 3rd and final show at Endeavour Primary School.  In order to ensure that the signals from Carmen's webcam were properly transmitted, I checked out the AV room located on top of the school hall. Very glad to see the controls were manned by 2 very young students!

Our shows may have ended but we are proud to have found a new 'home' for our truck.  It is now parked within the Road Safety Park at East Coast where the teaching of blind spots shall continue.....

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

POLICY & DONOR FORUM 2014

Michelle Yeoh, Global Road Safety Ambassador, was the special guest at the Decade of Action Policy & Donor Forum 2014.  We had a chat during the Welcome Reception on Monday evening and she commended Singapore for its road safety standards.

The forum was held yesterday at the RACV City Club in Melbourne.  The Chair of the Session, Mr Colin Jordan (Managing Director & CEO of RACV) is seen here thanking Michelle for her moving speech to lobby support for Road Safety as UN's post-2015 main priority.

Dr Zhou Wei was among the speakers to deliver perspectives on Road Safety in the Asia Pacific region. 

HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO (cousin of HM The Queen) praised the State of Victoria, Australia for its road safety achievements before presenting his prestigious 'Decade of Action' Award.

The participants gathered once again this morning for an interactive workshop on Fatality Free Roads.  Future road designs, automotive technologies and the possible impacts were among the subjects that were discussed.

There were several obvious takeaways from this Forum.  But, most importantly, I had the opportunity to see some old friends, made new contacts and shared a light moment with fellow participant from Singapore - Mr Bernard Tay, President of AAS.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

NEW PREMISES FOR AAS

Mr Bernard Tay, President of AAS (Automobile Association of Singapore) is seen here giving his Welcoming Address at the Official Opening of AAS premises along Kallang Bahru on 25th Apr 2014.

Earlier at GB Point, cocktail, live entertainment and photo-taking were provided for AAS members and guests.  Interestingly, the new premises was formerly a cinema called Mandarin Theatre.

L-R: Mr Bernard Tay (President, AAS), Guest-of-Honour Mr Jean Todt (President, Federation Internationale de L'Automobile), Tunku Mudzaffar (Chairman, Automobile Association of Malaysia), Mr Lee Wai Mun (CEO, AAS), Mr Colin Syn (Deputy Chairman, Singapore GP) and Mr Tan Teng Lip (President, Singapore Motor Sports Association)

The multiple 'explosions' of the balloon wall unveiled the iconic logo of AAS next to the Service Reception area.

Meet-the-press session was held at level 2 in GB Point where Mr Jean Todt gave an update on the recent changes in the engine rules for F1 cars.

Here's an extract of his remarks which was published in The Straits Times on the next day.

Also on 26th Apr 2014, the Singapore Road Safety Month was launched at Shangri-La Hotel. Special guests include Road Safety Global Ambassador Michelle Yeoh. 

Guest-of-Honour Minister Iswaran toured the exhibition area before proceeding to the Charity Gala Dinner which was held at the same hotel.


Sunday, March 9, 2014

SEE AND BE SEEN 2014

Enjoying Dim Sum with Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Organiser Lyndon Yeo during our half-way break at Changi Village.  The weather was mildly hazy but our spirits were higher than the psi reading.  We were among the participants for the 42-km category of SABS (See and Be Seen) - a cycling event to promote use of lights during night ride.

Registration and collection of event attire took place on Sunday, 2nd March 2014 at *SCAPE. Note the reminder - "No Helmet, No Lights, No Ride"

On the same evening, students from NIE visited migrant workers at their dormitories.

The students distributed bicycle lights and shared safety riding tips with the workers.

Paul Lincoln (partially hidden) is a member of the Mobility and Road Safety Commission of SMSA.  He was responsible for leading the NIE students who initiated this partnership between SMSA and SABS.  In addition, Paul even found time to tune our bikes hours before our ride!

This Hyundai managed to transport (4 on roof + 2 at the rear + 1 in boot) = 7 bikes to the event venue on 8th March 2014.

Participants, including this familiar face, began to report at BIG Splash as early as 6:30 pm.

The 3 babes in the middle are Carmen, Cynthia and Jamela.

This photo by CHANNEL NEWSASIA shows participants and their bikes leaving Start Point at 8pm sharp.

After cycling 42 km, Poh Heng was visibly relieved at the End Point.


Paul took the opportunity to show the Minister the various logos printed on this tee-shirt.

The Minister demonstrated his support for FIA "Action for Road Safety".









It has been a wonderful experience to work with the dedicated team from SABS.

And finally, here's a article on the event by CHANNEL NEWSASIA -

SINGAPORE: Some 1,000 cyclists took part in a night cycling safety initiative on Saturday evening - aimed at promoting tolerance and respect among road users.
Participants pedalled along Singapore's eastern and northern park connectors.
The theme of the night was “Be Bright, Be Safe”.
The event is jointly organised by See and Be Seen, the Singapore Motor Sports Association and Federation Internationale de l'Automobile's Road Safety Grant Programme.
Main organiser - See and Be Seen - also gave out some 1,000 bike lights and reflective stickers to cyclists, as well as foreign workers, at their dormitories.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan also cycled some 42 kilometres with the participants.
Dr Balakrishnan said: "Cycling is a wonderful sport. And one which we really need to promote in Singapore, but to be honest with you, we have problems. We have to negotiate with both motorists and pedestrians and we have to create a safe niche for cyclists. So this event (of) promoting safe cycling, especially one at night, is very apt, and I'm here to support the cause." 

Sunday, February 9, 2014

THE SWISSE COLOR RUN 2014

The Swisse Color Run (Australia Edition) was held on 9th Feb 2014.  For your reading pleasure, here are some captioned photos taken during the morning session. 

1.  Check-in was done outside ANZ Stadium

2.  A sign touting "The Happiest 5K (kilometer) on The Planet"

3.  Getting ready for the start (holding) area

4.  Mass start flag off at 8 am 

5.  During the run, I took selfies with some very interesting characters


6.  A Unicorn??



7.  A make-up model

8.  A hair model


9.  How about an Angel?

10.  Unmistakable Amigo!

11.  The first colour station - BLUE

12.  Entertainment like this 'live' performance were provided en route

13.  The ORANGE station may be mistaken as mud-play

14.  Organiser even provided a covered station spraying bubbles


15.  The PINK station was well loved by the girls


16.  SOP (Sydney Olympic Park) was a great venue for the event


17.  Like all stations, YELLOW was clearly marked and well manned by the volunteers


18.  A final group shot with Enzo, Carrera and Carmen before the finishing line

19.  Ready to party at the End Point

20.  A leap of joy that we have completed the run

21.  The coloured powder on our bodies and attire were air-blown  as were leaving the venue

22.  Finally, we were provided with rain coats so that we do not stain the seats on the public transport