James Seah Almost Got Into Accident On The PIE After A Car Swerved Into His Lane Without Warning
Mediacorp actor James Seah had a harrowing start to his work day on Feb 3 when he almost got into a car accident.
“Encountered a situation on the road today. Pls be mindful that your careless/reckless actions on the road affect others greatly not only yourself. Pls be a responsible driver. Let’s make our roads be a kind and pleasant driving experience. Don’t be like this fellow (sic)," wrote James, 31.
The actor, who got married to his long-time girlfriend influencer Nicole Chang Min last month, then shared a dashcam video of him driving on the Pan Island Expressway (PIE).
A white car, which was cruising on the outermost lane, suddenly cut into his lane without signaling, and James, who was in the middle lane, was forced to swerve to the innermost lane.
James shared this dashcam footage of the near accident
In a phone interview with 8days.sg, James said, “It was around 9pm and I was just driving to work since we were filming overnight. This white car just swerved out very dangerously — it was very close to my car — my natural instinct was to avoid the car so I went to the right lane and thankfully there wasn’t any vehicle there. It happened too quickly (…) Looking back at the footage, I saw that there was another vehicle in the rightmost lane, and it was just very lucky that the driver was cruising at a speed where the car wasn’t right next to mine.”
He continued, “The driver didn’t check their blind spot… I don’t know what they were doing because they changed lane without signaling, preempting or anything like that. I horned at the driver to warn that I’m behind and not to turn out any further.”
“They might have been impatient because the car in front of them was going a bit slower, but to change lanes without doing the proper checks is wrong.”
The actor admitted that he considered going after the driver to find out what was going on, but thought better of it “because it’s very dangerous, and if I do that, it might cause more trouble. It’s the new year, so I just let it go and get on with life.”
We're glad that James (and his car) are okay
As the car’s windows were tinted, James was unable to discern the driver’s gender.
“I feel like I’m an okay driver, a safe one,” he said. “I’ve never, touch wood, gotten in any accident of any sort (…) This is the first time I’ve had to resort to such defensive driving; there were smaller incidents where I had to evade a rock on the road or something, but this is the first time an actual car suddenly appeared in my lane.”
When asked if he plans to shame the reckless driver by posting the car's number plate online, James said that he doesn't think that's necessary.
"My purpose of posting that IG story was to create awareness. Driving can be really stressful and I feel like some drivers aren’t very kind," he added.
"For example, on busy days or in traffic jams, some drivers don’t give way even if you really have to change lanes. We should create a mindset where we’re kind on the roads and everyone has a pleasant driving experience. Kindness begets kindness and although it will be a slow process, it would be good if we can be more mindful about those around us.”
Photos: James Seah/Instagram
