Parliament: Rear-view cameras, more emergency horn buttons for Bionix vehicles

The Singapore Army has put in place a series of safety measures, including for vehicular training, after the incident that led to Corporal First Class Liu Kai's death last November, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament yesterday.

These include installing additional emergency horn buttons and rear-view cameras in the Bionix armoured vehicles.

A Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle had mounted the Land Rover that CFC Liu was driving during a field training exercise in the Jalan Murai training area, trapping him and leading to his death.

This reversing took place despite repeated commands by the Bionix rear guide for it to stop, Dr Ng revealed yesterday.

The measures were announced as part of Dr Ng's ministerial statement on recent deaths in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), including more details about the circumstances surrounding the death of CFC (NS) Aloysius Pang last month.

Dr Ng said that now, for all Bionix reversing manoeuvres, the driver can move the vehicle backwards only with the explicit clearance by the rear guide, and trainers will now be in the combat vehicles during "high-risk" training instead of being in Land Rovers.

"These two measures together, with the extra emergency horn buttons, will enhance safety and still allow armour units to practise extrication drills," said Dr Ng.

Dr Ng said the SAF will also put a number of measures in place to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents in the future.

From next month, the Bionix training fleet will be retrofitted with a rear-view camera system in phases, and this will be completed by 2020.

The system provides a live video feed of the vehicle's rear to enhance the operator's situational awareness while in the vehicle during training and operations.

It is capable of operating in a low-light environment, with the video displayed on the 16.5cm-wide display panel mounted in the operator's compartment.

The army will study if these new features for the Bionix vehicles ought to be incorporated for the operational vehicles as well, he said.

In addition, all heavy-wheeled vehicles such as five-tonners will have rear-view cameras and mirrors installed to reduce blind spots.

Since last November, all Bionix vehicles used for training have had three emergency horns, up from one, and the vehicle's rear guide can use them as an additional way of alerting the operator and those outside the vehicle of any hazards or obstacles.

When a horn is sounded, the Bionix's operator has to stop the vehicle immediately.

More regular trainers have been added as trainers, and they will no longer just be in Land Rovers, said Dr Ng. Instead, they will be required to be in the combat vehicles with the trainees during "high-risk" training.

The army will ensure that only essential vehicles are allowed in the exercise area to minimise the risk of accidents, he said.

He added that the newly announced Inspector-General's Office, which is tasked with ensuring compliance with safety rules and promoting safety culture in the SAF, will review whether further mitigating measures are needed to help operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) adjust from civilian life to in-camp training.

This was in response to MPs who asked if NSmen are familiar with their tasks.

Dr Ng said: "Ultimately, safety is both a command and individual responsibility, and everyone needs to play their part because precious lives depend on it."