Changi accident: Third cyclist killed in three days

A cyclist died on the road on Saturday, the third in as many days, leading to renewed concerns from the biking fraternity about road safety.

The as-yet-unidentified cyclist collided with a lorry on Changi Coast Road at about 10.30 in the morning. Police did not name the male victim, who was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

Investigations are ongoing, said a police spokesman. The previous two days were also deadly for cyclists.

One died last Friday after he was hit by a bus on Jalan Boon Lay. Another died last Thursday in an accident on Brickland Road, near Choa Chu Kang. Last month, a cyclist was admitted to intensive care after a hit-and-run accident along Mandai Road.

Changi Coast Road, which skirts Changi Airport, is popular with cyclists as a straight and uninterrupted stretch of more than 7km. But in the last year, three cyclists have died while riding on it.

Road users said the same conditions that attract cyclists also tempt motorists to speed.

"Our concern is the heavy vehicles and how fast they go," a 30-year-old cyclist told The Sunday Times. He said they often "whizz past cyclists by a hair's breadth" even though cyclists keep very close to the side of the road.

Motorist Tan Kok Nguan, 43, said he has seen cars there exceeding speeds of 100kmh. The speed limit for the four-lane road is 70 kmh.

In January, the traffic police said it would test a new speed trap system along the road, which may put the brakes on the speeding. Drivers whose average speed over a set distance exceeds the limit may eventually be penalised.

More enforcement would discourage speeding, said cyclist Kenneth Tan, 25. He is perplexed as to why the road is an accident hot spot. "It feels very safe. It's so wide," he said, suggesting that drivers perhaps do not pay enough attention to cyclists on the road.

Online cycling forums have also noted that cyclists sometimes court danger by failing to notice stationary vehicles by the road.

Motorist Mr Tan advised cyclists not to "risk their lives" alongside speeding vehicles on that road. Other cyclists called on their peers to stick to the safer Park Connector Network paths.

But cyclists have every right to be on the road too as road users, said cyclist Ong Boon Kiat, 44. "It's a shared space. For it to be safe, both must be aware and respect each other's right to be on the road."

Since 2009, about 16 cyclists have died on the roads each year.

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