Three seniors die in traffic accidents in two days
The death of the elderly pedestrian in the Jurong East accident on Tuesday was the third in just two days.
The spate of road accident fatalities come less than two weeks after the Traffic Police (TP) revealed that the number of deaths from road accidents rose last year.
On Monday, two motorcyclists were killed in separate accidents on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE).
The first happened at about 1.45am, when a 61-year-old man died after a taxi driven by a 73-year-old man crashed into his motorbike.
At about 8pm that day, a 55-year-old bus driver on his motorcycle died after colliding with a tipper truck driven by a 51-year-old man on the BKE.
According to TP, there were 124 deaths from road accidents last year, up from 121 in 2017.
The TP also said the number of accidents involving elderly pedestrians remain a concern.
This number fell to 259 last year, from 276 in 2017.
However, these accidents account for a quarter of all accidents involving pedestrians.
The number of elderly pedestrians who died from accidents fell from 26 in 2017 to 25 last year, but that made up 62.5 per cent of all pedestrian fatalities last year, compared with 57.8 per cent in 2017.
Motorcyclists were also a concern for the TP, as the number of fatal accidents involving them increased from 45 in 2017 to 65 last year.
Motorcyclists and their pillion riders also made up almost half of all road accident deaths in 2018.
Mr Bernard Tay, chairman of the Singapore Road Safety Council, said the mindset of all road users, including pedestrians, need to change.
"Motorcyclists and pedestrians, especially the elderly, are vulnerable road users and need to be extra careful," he said.
RECKLESS
"Some are reckless in the way they use the roads, and unless they abide by the rules, they are exposing themselves to unnecessary risks."
He added that motorists need to always have safety on their mind. "All motorists have already gone through their tests, so skill is not the issue here," he said.
"It is the basic problem of a mindset that neglects safety."
Mr Tay admitted that changing the mindset was an uphill task.
"We do outreach, classes, talks, but it is a habit and will take time to change," he said.
"It is difficult, and not all will change their mindset even after all that, but hopefully some will, so we can have safer roads for everyone."
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