i found this editorial from IS so funny i'm gonna type the whole thing out. i know it'll be dumb but i'm doing it anyway.
shit. it's a lot of words. excuse the spelling errors.
WAKE UP CALL
singapore- In the wake of several commuters falling into the path of oncoming mrt trains, the land transport authority LTA has done a survey to discover why such incidents occur. "we felt an empirical study was needed to discover why some commuters behave with such apparent lack of personal responsibility," says an lta spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, referring to the 224 persons wandering onto train tracks since the mrt system started in 1991.
the findings, based on a survey of 10000 commuters over the past two weeks, include a surprising possible cause: fatigue due to sleep deprivation and overwork. an overwhelming 94 percent of commuters say they enter mrt stations at the start of a work or school day already feeling tired and drowsy, with 83 percent nodding off during a train ride at least twice a week. a quarter even claim to reach stages of deep slumber when vivid dreaming occurs, despite in an upright position. "people who are hardly awake usually can't tell if they're on the platform or the tracks, or even how they got there," says the lta spokesperson.
commuters most at risk of mishap are:
sleep deprived or chronically fatigued commuters
shift workers, especially production line operators
tertiary students facing imminent examinations
executive involved in project or client-based work
employees conditioned to chronic overtime work
those who commute in the early morning, on warm afternoons, or late at night
those under medication that increases drowsiness
parents of newborn children or ailing elderly folk
those travelling on long, boring routes through satellite towns
intoxicated commuters
to prevent such accidents, the ministry of home affairs and the lta are launching the "stay awake singapore!" campaign (SAS!), starting from oct 1. fun and innovative measures include handouts of high caffiene beverages to sleepy looking commuters. these drinks will be exempted from the "don't drink on the mrt" rule. also to be introduced is the "ride with a buddy: system, where pairs of fatigued commuters take turns to stay awake on the station platforms and in the trains. a third initiative at station platforms is motion sensors, installed along existion yellow marker lines. except when there is a train at the station, the sensors will impart small electric shocks to any object intercepting the invisible barrier, thus preventing potentially disastrous falls onto the tracks whilst simultaneously giving straying commuters an exhilarating "wake-up" jolt.
phew. thank goodness for those pri 4 speed typing lessons. you'll probably find it just a little funny, but i was laughing at every other sentences, which is a warning sign of depression. will be back with super depressing mid life crisis rant later.
