Baey Yam Keng suffers ‘light abrasions’ after collision with cyclist while running

SINGAPORE – Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, and Transport Baey Yam Keng sustained minor injuries after bumping into a cyclist riding against the traffic flow during his morning run on Nov 24.

In a Facebook post on Nov 25, Mr Baey said he had been running on the pavement, and was about to cross a one-way road, which usually has very light vehicular traffic, in an undisclosed neighbourhood, when the “little accident” happened.

He said he had checked for oncoming traffic on his right but did not notice a road cyclist coming from his left and ran across the road, resulting in the collision.

“I couldn’t stop in time and bumped into her. I fell and landed on my right knee. She toppled but managed not to fall,” he wrote.

He said the cyclist was riding against the traffic flow, but accepted that she “really couldn’t see me in advance” due to a tall bush by the road, which obstructed her view of him. He added that she was “very apologetic”.

“Fortunately, I just had light abrasions,” he said.

Attached to his post were pictures of what appears to be a bruised knee, an abrasion across his chest resembling a scratch and a picture of a cracked phone screen.

“My phone had it worse!” he added.

Mr Baey said: “I should have been more careful and check out directions before running across the road.

“Sometimes, accidents happen due to lapses of attention or oversights. I think both of us had to bear some responsibility,” he said.

Mr Baey’s post attracted about 1,000 reactions and more than 350 comments, with some commenting that it was wrong of the cyclist to cycle against the flow of traffic, and that the injuries could have been worse if the cyclist had hit an elderly person or a child.

In response to a comment to his post, Mr Baey said he had also advised the cyclist not to cycle against the traffic flow.