AsiaOne: How Safe Are Our Roads?

[Vulcann]

From AsiaOne:

 

http://ride.asiaone.com/news/general/story...oads?page=0%2C0

 

How safe are our roads?

 

(Clockwise from top) The junction of Rochor Road and Victoria Street, where a Ferrari driver ran a red light

and hit a taxi on May 12 last year; the scene of a chain collision involving four vehicles on Seletar Expressway,

near the Turf Club Avenue exit, on Dec 8, 2010; a car crashed into a traffic light at the junction of

Woodlands Avenue 7 and Gambas Avenue on Oct 25, 2011.

 

Maryam Mokhtar and Royston Sim | The Straits Times | Sunday, Mar 10, 2013

 

Drivers making right turns 'may misjudge, be impatient'

 

Making a right turn at a cross junction can be dangerous and has been the cause of at least 11 serious or fatal accidents in the past two years.

 

In 2011, a 22-year-old unlicensed driver killed a pedestrian while making a right turn from Tampines Street 45 into Tampines Avenue 9.

 

That junction was also where two young brothers were knocked down and killed by a cement truck in January. In that instance, the truck was turning left.

 

Nanyang Technological University adjunct associate professor Gopinath Menon said motorists making turns may misjudge the window to turn safely across traffic, or may be impatient.

 

Said Mr Menon, a retired Land Transport Authority planner: "They take a risk and don't want to wait for the green arrow."

 

Avid cyclist Francis Chu, 53, said cars making a right turn often focus only on traffic coming from the opposite direction and not on whether people are crossing the road they are turning into.

 

Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah told The Straits Times on Thursday that a resident in her ward who was in her 30s died in January because of another driver's misjudgment when taking a right turn. A car turning from Lentor Avenue into Yio Chu Kang Road knocked down the motorcyclist, who was coming from the opposite direction.

 

"Drivers are impatient. We need a mindset change to encourage courtesy on the roads for everyone's safety," she said.

 

Motorcyclists, cyclists most likely to get serious injuries

 

The Straits Times found that motorcyclists and cyclists frequently paid for road accidents with their lives.

 

On Feb 22, a motorcyclist in his 40s was killed after making a right turn at a junction in Sengkang, then colliding with another motorcyclist. This group of road users, said former Land Transport Authority planner Gopinath Menon, are more vulnerable to serious injuries and death as they are more exposed and not protected by a vehicle.

 

A New Paper report last Saturday showed that of 14 road-related deaths reported in the previous two months, six involved motorcyclists and cyclists.

 

Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport chairman Cedric Foo said "the best line of defence" was to educate them on road safety. "Cyclists need to don helmets voluntarily to save precious lives and we see anecdotally that they don't do that," he said.

 

Asked if expressways posed a higher risk for motorcyclists, Mr Menon said riders "must be alert" on these roads, which have high-volume, high-speed traffic.

 

Motorcyclist Roy Peng, 26, said: "It's dangerous even if you're a safe rider, what more if you are reckless."

 

An executive in the industrial gas industry, he noted that some riders weave through lanes on the expressway without considering if they are in a vehicle's blind spot.

 

And from his experience, lorries, which have larger blind spots, pose a greater threat.

Road users 'less vigilant late at night, with fewer vehicles'

 

Motorists and cyclists could be dropping their guard when they use the roads late at night or in the early hours.

 

After a spate of recent accidents at these times, avid cyclist and co-founder of lovecycling.sg Francis Chu, 53, fears some cyclists perceive the roads to be emptier and hence safer.

 

"From my experience, cars too tend to speed up because there are fewer motorists on the road."

 

Two weeks ago, two men were killed on the same day in a pair of unrelated road accidents.

 

The first victim is believed to have died instantly when his car mounted a kerb and hit a tree at around 2am. About five hours later, a 59-year old van driver is understood to have lost control of his vehicle, which skidded and struck a road barrier on the Ayer Rajah Expressway at about 7am.

 

MP Lim Wee Kiak is a strong supporter of stiffer penalties for speeding drivers - especially in school zones. He said the changing lighting conditions at dawn and dusk could also be a factor affecting the visibility of motorists.

 

Drivers interviewed said they tend to be less aware of their surroundings in the wee hours.

 

Motorcyclist Nurhafi Azahari, 23, has been riding for five years and has been involved in two road accidents. He said: "Late at night after work, I sometimes feel too tired and less alert."

 

There were 7,168 accidents causing fatalities or injuries last year and 7,926 in 2011.

 

6 Black Spots:

 

1. The intersection of Tampines Avenue 1, Tampines Avenue 4 and Bedok Reservoir Road:

 

2. The right turn from Woodlands Avenue 7 onto Gambas Avenue:

 

3. The merging of the Seletar Expressway and Bukit Timah Expressway:

 

4. The junction of Rochor Road and Victoria Street:

 

5. The slip road from Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 into the Central Expressway:

 

6. The Intersection of Upper Serangoon Road, Upper Paya Lebar Road and Boundary Road:

[Vulcann]

Of the 6 black spots, only familiar with the famous or rather infamous Victoria St-Rochor Rd junction.

 

The other accident prone zone to me was the Punggol Rd-Rivervale Dr/Compassvale St junction based on my early years of working around that area:

 

 

 

[Leepee]

This could be why the TP is installing the traffic light speed cameras!

Very good to catch those who likes to speed pass traffic lights, although the light is green and in driver's favor.

 

 

 

[13177]

Besides installing speed cameras, wonder any other solutions which can helps improving our roads?!

[Vulcann]

Besides installing speed cameras, wonder any other solutions which can helps improving our roads?!

 

Unfortunately most drivers will only guay guay take notice when there are red-light/speed cameras or/and TPs on the roads.

 

As far as responsible social behaviour is concerned, we are still not there yet. [shakehead]

[13177]

Unfortunately most drivers will only guay guay take notice when there are red-light/speed cameras or/and TPs on the roads.

 

As far as responsible social behaviour is concerned, we are still not there yet. [shakehead]

No wonder road accident rate so high. Even no accident, road also jam for no reasons and could be due to poor driving habits?!

[Vulcann]

No wonder road accident rate so high. Even no accident, road also jam for no reasons and could be due to poor driving habits?!

 

Another reason for jams on the lanes we are travelling is because of traffic accidents ON the opposite direction, due to bo liao kay po drivers slowing down to either "admire" or to jot down VRNs of accident vehicles [furious]

[Quantum]

No wonder road accident rate so high. Even no accident, road also jam for no reasons and could be due to poor driving habits?!

IMO, Singapore drivers no courtesy on road, don't mention Euro/US/Japan, even if worse than Middle east, quite similar as China/Indin

[13177]

IMO, Singapore drivers no courtesy on road, don't mention Euro/US/Japan, even if worse than Middle east, quite similar as China/Indin

Sometimes also due to the design of the road which contribute to the jams on the road. One very good example is merge lane. I really dont understand what is the purpose of a merge lane?

[Leepee]

Speeding is still the root cause.

Once car speed slows down...the severity of accidents may be reduced.

 

[Simplecar]

No wonder road accident rate so high. Even no accident, road also jam for no reasons and could be due to poor driving habits?!

Jam could be due to:

1. Insufficient Capacity/Reduced Capacity - roadworks, tree-pruning,

2. Weaving traffic

3. post accident - the bunching takes time to clear. (just like at traffic junction - even if the light is green in our favour, only the first vehicle can move off and followed by those behind)

4. Presence of Traffic Police

5 (Rare) Gridlock

6. Poor Traffic light synchronization/timing (insufficient) resulting in one branch getting stuck even though it is green

7. Others.

 

[Simplecar]

Sometimes also due to the design of the road which contribute to the jams on the road. One very good example is merge lane. I really dont understand what is the purpose of a merge lane?

Merge lane - when the total number of lanes across the junction is less than the preceding. If they could, they would have made all roads having the same number of lanes.

 

[Simplecar]

IMO, Singapore drivers no courtesy on road, don't mention Euro/US/Japan, even if worse than Middle east, quite similar as China/Indin

I have had good experiences these days. Slow-moving vehicles have been giving way, and vehicles are not bunching together when driving. makes for smooth filtering. Occasionally some do not give way. These are in the minority.

[13177]

I think the 'Poor Traffic light synchronization/timing (insufficient) resulting in one branch getting stuck even though it is green' is one of the major reason resulting in heavy traffic and jams on the road. You can notice that many traffic light turned green at one junction, but immediate at the next traffic light is red. As a result all cars 'jam' at the junction.

[13177]

Merge lane - when the total number of lanes across the junction is less than the preceding. If they could, they would have made all roads having the same number of lanes.

For many roads i think they can actually avoid having merge lane. Example like those slip road from a traffic junction turn into expressway. Very often traffic will build up at the junction, cause two lane will merge into one lane before cars can drive out into the expressway. Everytime i always need at least 10 minutes in order for me to exit into the expressway during peak hours. Dont understand when they build the road, why cannot widen the road into two lane?

Edited March 12, 2013 by 13177

[Yewheng]

Unfortunately most drivers will only guay guay take notice when there are red-light/speed cameras or/and TPs on the roads.

 

As far as responsible social behaviour is concerned, we are still not there yet. [shakehead]

 

At least some will slow down when approaching redlight + speed camera afraid of getting summon, which is much safer than drivers speed 90+ 100+km/h pass traffic light even if light is in their favour.

Edited March 12, 2013 by Yewheng

[Kiadaw]

Not happy don't drive leh. Take public transport

 

Speed do not kill people, idiot people do

 

When I was (insert a first world country), I seen someone drive very agressively, so (insert country) are not better.

 

Just kidding, but this is the kind of replies I seen often here. In a nutshell, nothing much will change because people atttude will not change, sadly.

 

Its cost nothing to drive safer, be more considerate, but everyone (except repair workshops) benefit from less stress on the road, less insurance premium. if we all try to be a better driver.

 

[Vulcann]

At least some will slow down when approaching redlight + speed camera afraid of getting summon, which is much safer than drivers speed 90+ 100+km/h pass traffic light even if light is in their favour.

 

Precisely why most of us will only observe road safety when there is a perceived chance i.e. known fixed speed/red-light cameras of getting summons.

 

Most will still kena from mobile stealth cameras from unpredictable spots....