Netizens chide authorities for taking actions to deal with speeding only after Tanjong Pagar fatal car crash

Following the tragic accident that saw five people killed in the early hours of Saturday morning (13 February) in Tanjong Pagar, the Traffic Police have said that they are studying the situation, and would look into further enforcement operations in the area, as well as road-calming measures, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

Some of the measures that the authority is exploring to slow traffic down include adding road humps and speed regulating strips.

The Traffic Police also pointed out that enforcement operations are increased around the festive season, “consistent with past years”. However, the number of such operations was not divulged.

MPs for the area said that they would welcome extra measure to curb the speeding issue, with residents highlighting that the roaring sounds of speeding cars has disrupted their sleep for years.

The accident, which occurred at around 5.40 am on Saturday, saw a BMW skidded and slammed into a vacant shophouse along Tanjong Pagar Road before bursting into flames. The fatal crash claimed the lives of all five on board.

The speed limit along the stretch is 50kmh.

Their MP, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah, said that loud noise coming from speeding or racing that she received were mostly in the Cantonment Road area.

“I think one or two (complaints received) 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 told reporters.

She also went on to suggest a number of solutions such as adding traffic cameras or including speed bumps to encourage drivers to slow down.

She also noted that she has asked the Traffic Police to look into the issue of speeding and work with the Land Transport Authority.

While this incident saw the highest number of people killed in a single road traffic accident in a decade, residents in the Tanjong Pagar area have said that speeding in the vicinity was not uncommon. Many local residents have said that they have frequently suffered sleep disruption because of the sounds of speeding in the past years.

Mr Syed Kassim, a stall assistant at a Muslim food stall at Maxwell Food Centre, said to TODAY that the deafening sound of speeding vehicles is a common occurrence in the area, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

“The road is already (very narrow) and some of them drive very fast in this area. It’s scary,” he said.

Commenting about the fatal crash, 56-year-old Madam Norizan Mohamaddan said that the loud sound from Saturday’s accident jolted her from her sleep, adding that this was not the first time her sleep was disrupted in such a manner.

She explained that in the last five year she has been staying at Block 333 Kreta Ayeh Road, which is a five-minute walk from the crash site, she has experienced four car accidents in the area.

Speaking about installing measures, like speed bumps, to control the speed of vehicles, Ms Indranee noted that a consideration that needs to be made is how these features would affect traffic, especially during peak hours in the morning when residents would be driving out.

“You must remember that whatever you do, whether it is speed bumps or anything else, (it) affects all traffic at all hours.”

She added that there could be enforcement but it is difficult to deploy them at all times.

“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,” she expressed.

Netizens question the lack of actions taken earlier by authorities

On social media, online users slammed the authorities for saying that actions will be taken to curb speeding issue only after a fatal accident has happened. Penning their thoughts in Facebook pages of AsiaOne and The New Paper, they said that complaints have been made by residents earlier but no actions were taken.

They added that if this issue was rectified earlier, then this accident might have not occurred and those five lives could have been saved.

Some added that enforcement should have been in place a long time ago, and that the authorities are always “reactive” rather than “proactive”. They also questioned why the police did take active action in monitoring cars given that “race and overspeeding is commonly committed” in the area.

Others suggested that instead of studying the roads, the Police Traffic should get more of its officers to patrol hotspots and give harsh punishment for those who are caught driving recklessly.

A number of online users also urged the Government to ban sports cars from driving on the road.

“Since none of our roads or expressways are designed for speeding, and speeding beyond a certain limit is illegal in Singapore, why are we even allowing high performance cars on our roads?” an user asked.