69-year old and his quest for road safety

He was the man behind designated rain shelters for motorcyclists and aluminium crash barrier at expressway exits. He was also involved in many others road safety initiatives, such as the 'talking' green man, which tells pedestrian when to start crossing.

At 69 years of age, Mr Gopinath Menon has dedicated three decades of his life to make Singapore roads safer. The Transportation Engineer was first involved in road safety initiatives with the Public Works Department in 1972, and subsequently with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) - which he ended his tenure in 2003.

Now, he is a semi-retiree and is an adjunct professor at Nanyang Technological University. But that does not stop him from carrying on his passion.

Among his friends he is often labelled as a 'spoilsport', because he will check if his drinking friends are driving whenever he attends dinner parties. When driven by his children, he ensures that none of them uses the mobile phone, even if it's for a split moment at the red lights.

In his years of involvement in road safety, Mr Menon has spearheaded many projects - one of the biggest was the introduction of the green and red man at pedestrian crossings in 1976. Speaking to The Straits Times, he recalled, "In those days, people had to judge when it was best to cross and dash across the street. The lights were only for vehicles."

He also recalled that drink driving was seen as macho, but luckily it is no longer so. That said, the Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Road Safety Council has observed that Singaporean drivers are now getting more impatient, and the use of mobile phones while driving has become increasingly common.

When asked about his passion for road safety, he said, "It's meaningful trying to safe lives."