I pass by the junction of Upper Serangoon Road, Boundary Road, and Upper Paya Lebar Road very frequently. It is a big crossroad junction with 4-6 lanes for each direction, and with a viaduct (or skyway) plying across. The traffic light configuration is different from many other junctions.
On 21 Feb 2022, I passed by the same junction after 7 am. The traffic was slow as there was an accident with traffic police and an ambulance at the scene. A double-deck bus had blocked 2 lanes of the traffic flow. I caught a glimpse of the accident when the bus I was in passed by. A student was on the stretcher, being attended by a paramedic.
2 hours later, I passed by the same junction from another direction. The bus was pulled to a side while a preliminary investigation was in progress. There was big damage on the windscreen of the bus and signage on the pavement calling for witnesses of the accident. It indicated ‘a serious accident’.
A few days later, the words on the signage changed from ‘serious accident’ to ‘fatal accident’. My heart sank when I saw the ‘fatal’ word. My prayers went to the family for such stressful and painful times.
I lost one of the respected secondary school teachers who passed on due to a traffic accident at the same junction in Aug 2020. The taxi she was traveling in dashed across the red light and was being run over by a truck from the perpendicular direction.
The sharing on social media went viral and there were many exchanges in our secondary school chat group. Due to the Covid19 lockdown period, we were not able to attend the funeral. We could only mourn for the loss remotely.
A gentle reminder to the LinkedIn community:
· Be patient and careful when we use the roads, be it as a driver or pedestrian.
· Follow the traffic light signs closely, especially at big junctions.
· Refrain from crossing the roads when the green lights are flashing.
· Never assume that it is safe to cross the roads when the lights turn in your favour. Cross when the vehicles slow down or come to a stop.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6914017163636867072/
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