Singapore – The fatal car crash in Tanjong Pagar on Saturday (Feb 13) has brought back into the spotlight the problem of speeding in the area.
Early on Saturday morning, a loud crash was heard at 37 Tanjong Pagar Road. A white BMW was caught speeding before colliding into a vacant shophouse. The car caught fire, taking the lives of all five men in the vehicle.
According to the police, that was the largest number of people killed in a single accident in the past decade.
On Sunday (Feb 14), the Traffic Police (TP) informed the media that they are studying the situation at Tanjong Pagar although they did not disclose any details.
The police would explore further enforcement operations and road-calming measures, reported straitstimes.com. The measures include slowing traffic down through the use of road humps and speed regulating strips.
Meanwhile, residents of the area have voiced their concerns over speeding. “Cars can usually be heard from 1 am onwards, and my sleep is often disrupted by the noise of their engines,” said one resident to straitstimes.com.
The resident noted the circuit breaker period, which restricted outdoor activities, was a temporary respite. Noise levels have gradually risen as the country relaxed Covid-19 measures.
“I wake up to the noise, which usually happens between 1 am and 2 am, at least once or twice a week,” said another resident.
Facebook page SG Road Vigilante also commented on the incident, noting residents of the Tanjong Pagar area has been “complaining for ages” about vehicles speeding in the middle of the night. “As usual, a fatal speeding accident is needed to kick-start the studies for ‘road calming measures,’” the post added.
On Sunday, Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency’s Member of Parliament, Ms Indranee Rajah, disclosed that the complaints she had received in the past were about speeding and racing mostly in the Cantonment Road area.
“I think one or two (of the complaints) are in this area, meaning Craig Road and Tanjong Pagar Road. The majority of noise complaints I received here were largely of people after hours, drinking, smoking, that kind of associated noise,” she confirmed with reporters.
Ms Indranee, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development, has asked the Traffic Police to look into what could be done in the area, such as installing speed cameras and infrastructure to reduce vehicles’ speed.
However, traffic flow effects need to be considered when installing infrastructure such as speed bumps, said Ms Indranee. Enforcement might also be required although difficult to deploy round the clock.
“So at the end of the day, the message to all drivers is, please don’t race, don’t speed, because there can be very tragic consequences as we have seen, and the impact is not just on yourselves but also the families and friends,” said Ms Indranee. /TISG
Read related: Woman in ICU after trying to save boyfriend in fatal Tanjong Pagar crash ‘did what she did for love’
Speeding cyclist crashes into van, ends up with bloodied face