Man injured in accident when group of cyclists overtakes another group
Police are investigating an accident between two cyclists on Sunday morning that resulted in one of them being hospitalised with a minor brain bleed.
In the early morning incident, Mr Andy Oh, 49, lost his balance and fell after cyclists from another group overtook his group along Upper Thomson Road towards Sembawang Road.
He was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.
In a Facebook post on Sunday night, Mr Oh’s wife Serlina Eng said the accident was the result of “crazy cyclists deciding to let their egos get the better of them, ignoring the safety of others”.
In video footage from a camera attached to the back of Mr Oh’s bicycle and shared on social media, he is seen riding in a group with other cyclists, in two rows.
At 6.43am, according to the video’s time stamp, a larger group of cyclists races up to overtake the first group as it is reaching the traffic junction between Upper Thomson Road and Springleaf Road.
The cyclists in the second group are seen riding three or four abreast, close to one another and to those in the first group. Some of them appear to weave their way between cyclists in the two groups.
Mr Oh loses his balance and crashes soon after a cyclist moves past him on his right.
In the video, the other cyclists in his group stop at a bus stop and attend to him.
Ms Eng said that despite screams and shouts from her and the other cyclists in her group, the cyclists in the second larger group rode off.
She said: “There was no regard for the safety of others, or even stopping when they heard a crash. And trust me, cyclists can hear a crash a mile away – it’s the most dreaded sound.”
Ms Eng added that her husband had suspected hip and elbow fractures ruled out and was being monitored closely for his brain bleed.
She said in her post that a cyclist from the second group has reached out to her.
Since January 2022, cyclists are allowed to ride in groups of no larger than five bicycles in length, whether riding single or two abreast, with a maximum of 10 cyclists per group.
As a guideline, groups of cyclists should also maintain a minimum distance of 30m, or the distance of about two lamp posts, between them. Overtaking should also be done only when it is safe to do so.
The Straits Times has contacted Ms Eng for comment.
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