Bus driver arrested after accident that killed another bus driver in Tuas

SINGAPORE - A bus driver was arrested after another bus driver died in an accident in Tuas on Sept 6.

Police said they were alerted to the accident between two buses at 7.35am on Sept 6 in Tuas South Avenue 4 towards Tuas South Avenue 1.

A 64-year-old male bus driver was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedic. 

A 67-year-old man, who was behind the wheel of the other bus, was arrested for careless driving causing death, the police added.

SCDF said it assessed one person for minor injuries, who declined to be taken to hospital.

In footage of the accident posted on the Singapore roads accident.com Facebook page, a bigger yellow bus can be seen crashing into the rear of a smaller white bus parked at the side of the lane. The impact causes the smaller bus to mount the kerb.

Photos taken by Shin Min Daily News at the accident site show that the two buses appear to be privately owned. According to the Chinese-language daily, the victim was the driver of the smaller bus.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat on July 1

announced a new task force

that will scrutinise the safety of public buses, after a spate of accidents was reported.

The task force – led by Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai and comprising representatives from government agencies, the National Transport Workers’ Union, all four public bus operators and the Singapore Road Safety Council – aims to complete its review by early 2025, said Mr Chee.

The four operators are SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Go-Ahead Singapore and Tower Transit Singapore. In all, they operate about 5,800 public buses.

In a Facebook post on July 1, Mr Chee said the annual number of serious accidents involving public buses in Singapore has remained stable in the past few years.

There were 75 such accidents in the first five months of 2024, compared with 207 in the whole of 2023 and 207 in the whole of 2022.