The 20-year-old, a logistics and supply management student at Republic Polytechnic, told Mothership.sg he was on his way back to his home in Bedok North when he first noticed the ambulance at a traffic junction along Upper Changi Road East at around 4pm.

The motorcyclist, who also holds a class 3 licence, said he empathised with the woman who was seated in the ambulance as she looked worried, at the same time noticing the siren had been turned on.

As a road user, he also said he was aware of other road users' behaviour, as some do not have the habit of clearing the way for ambulances to pass unobstructed.

He eventually cleared a path amounting to a distance of about 15km for the ambulance to travel all the way to the Balestier Road exit.

He then made a detour and headed back home.

Although he doesn't think too much of what he did, Rafiq said he will do it again when the situation arises. He also clarified that he is not part of the Traffic Police.

This was what he told Mothership.sg:

Firstly, I would like to say thank you for your time interviewing me, My name is Mohamad Rafiq Azhar Bin Abdul Rahman, 20, a full-time student at Republic Polytechnic. I have been riding for about eight months now. I have a Class 3 license too, which means I am also able to drive a car.

This is not the first time that I'm doing something like this. I have done the same for another ambulance some months ago, but it was only for a short distance on a main road.

It felt good and I knew that it won't be the last time that I'm doing it.

I feel that helping the ambulance by clearing the traffic was the most efficient way to get the patient in need of medical assistance to the hospital. According to my experiences, and from my observations, I’ve seen some of the road users not giving way to the ambulance or any emergency vehicles in general.

It is saddening and I thought that maybe I could make a difference. It is not very nice to see ambulances stepping on their brake pedal from time to time just because the road ahead wasn’t clear. Hence, I took the initiative to clear the road for the ambulance to reach the intended exit of the highway in a safe and speedy manner.

It was at about 4pm when I first noticed the ambulance at Upper Changi Road East going towards Pan Island Expressway (Tuas).

We were alongside each other at a traffic junction at Upper Changi Road East before leading to the PIE when I heard the siren of the ambulance being turned on and had a glanced at the lady who I think is the relative of the patient who was sitting on the passenger seat in the ambulance. I noticed that her facial expression was worried, and of course, I thought that they needed to be at the hospital as soon as possible.

I did encounter some of the road users resisting when I was carrying out my efforts and had to honk and go ahead to kindly signal them to give way to the ambulance. However, I appreciate that most of the traffic was giving way when I asked them to do so, it felt good.

When my brother, Mohamad Rizwan Bin Abdul Rahman told me that I was on Facebook helping the ambulance, I thought that he was playing around as he was the only person I told. I was shocked and surprised when I saw that video on Facebook, not to mention that it was going viral already last night. I felt happy and proud of myself when I saw the reactions to the video of me in it.

It made me feel like a different person today. My family and friends commended me on my good deeds. They were proud of me and my actions.

Some even thought that I was an off-duty Traffic Police officer, and some even said that it was dangerous.

But I think that the act of kindness has no limits. I will definitely do the same thing and will, of course, encourage other road users to practice giving way to emergency vehicles. Even now, my friends and families are telling me that they are inspired of my act of kindness.

Only a minority of motorists in Singapore would not want to give way so easily even after signalling, or some of the inconsiderate drivers do not signal when changing lanes and expect other road users to know their intention and to give way. I believe that some of these road users who do not give way when others are changing to their respective lanes is because of their ego. However, in general, Singapore motorists are quite disciplined and considerate.

Related article:

Motorcyclist clears way for ambulance to pass unhindered along PIE towards Jurong

Self-pawn driver reports police after honking & swearing at reversing ambulance

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