Cyclist knocked down by lorry after he throws bottle at windscreen
Cyclist knocked off bike by lorry after he throws water bottle at its windscreen
A cyclist was knocked down by a lorry after he threw his water bottle at its windscreen on Saturday.
But when the police arrived, both the cyclist and lorry driver were nowhere to be found.
The incident, which happened before noon at the junction of Pasir Ris Rise and Pasir Ris Drive 3, was caught on video and has since gone viral with more than 1.3 million views and more than 22,000 shares as of 10pm last night.
In the video, the lorry is seen attempting to overtake two cyclists just before the junction, but fails to do so.
The trio then stop at the junction because of a red light, with one cyclist in the middle of the second lane and the other to his left, and the lorry just behind them.
When the light turns green, they cross the junction and the lorry tries to overtake the cyclist in the middle of the lane again.
The cyclist is then seen tossing a water bottle at the lorry's windscreen, and the lorry immediately swerves sharply to its left, knocking the cyclist onto a grass patch along the road.
Police said they were alerted to the accident at 11.53am on Saturday and that no injuries were reported.
A spokesman for the Singapore Civil Defence Force said the cyclist refused to be taken to hospital.
Investigations are ongoing.
The video evoked sharp reactions from netizens, with many saying action should be taken against both cyclist and driver.
Experts The New Paper spoke to yesterday agreed that both parties shared blame.
But Singapore Safety Driving Centre training manager Gerard Pereira, 61, said that the driver's reaction was worse.
ELEPHANT & MOUSE
"It's like an elephant versus a mouse," he said. "For the cyclist to react that way was wrong, but for the driver to react was totally wrong. The driver was being a road bully."
He added that road users need to practise more patience.
Mr Francis Chu, 58, co-founder of cycling enthusiast group Love Cycling SG, said the bigger issue is the ambiguity of current regulations.
He said: "I feel that it is not clear how cyclists should use the road.
"Different road users have different views on how the roads should be used, and each party take its own interpretation to be correct."
He explained that even the basic rule of cyclists keeping to the left causes confusion.
"From the cyclist's point of view, keeping to the left means keeping to the left side based on his route, meaning if there is a turning lane he keeps left on the middle lane," he said.
"But to drivers, if the cyclist is not on the leftmost lane at any time, then he is not following the rules."
He added that the authorities need to be clearer with regulations to prevent such incidents.
"Doing something to improve road safety is more important than saying which party is right or wrong," he said.
"If we do not solve the root issue, then similar situations will happen again."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now