Showing posts with label Plead by SG cyclists to PM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plead by SG cyclists to PM. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Open Letter to CEO SBS Transit, CEO SMRT, Minister of Transport, Parl Sec for Transport
Open Letter to CEO SBS Transit, CEO SMRT, Minister of Transport, Parl Sec for Transport
Calvin is a cyclocommuter in Singapore. Yes. There is such a thing there in Singapore and more are taking to cycling to work. This is what he face at times on the road. Do u have the same problem? Things are not moving and he decided to send a message to those who can effect change. Let's see if there will be a reply. This is what he wrote.
to: ceo@sbstransit.com.sg, desmondkuek@smrt.com.sg, MUHAMMAD_FAISHAL@MOH.GOV.SG, LUI_TUCK_YEW@MOT.GOV.SG
cc: hock_yong_chew@lta.gov.sg, mcslim@lta.gov.sg, IRENENG@ISEAS.EDU.SG, TEO_SER_LUCK@MTI.GOV.SG, safecyclesg@gmail.com
Dear CEO SBS Transit and CEO SMRT,
I write to you on behalf of all cyclists who have been belittled, bullied and even run off the roads by your bus drivers on the road.
Within the past week, I managed to capture two incidents involving your bus drivers on video (see link below). I have written to SBS Transit in the past regarding similar incidences (ref: 2012/Feb/0666 & 2012/Jan/1692).
SMRT bus drivers, though not captured in this video, are equally guilty of the same boorish behaviour. I submitted a feedback via the SMRT website on regarding an incident involving Service #852 TIB671X on 11 Oct 2012, but received not a single reply. How very appalling.
This is not meant to generalize all bus drivers as road bullies - in fact, most drivers whom I encounter are courteous and considerate - but it only takes a few black sheep in your entire pool of bus drivers to tarnish the good work of the others, and endanger the lives of all whom they encounter on the roads.
As public transport operators, both of you have the biggest number of big vehicles collectively plying our roads from dawn to midnight, and you owe every road user the diligence and duty to operate the vehicles with due consideration for our safety, especially the vulnerable ones on foot or on two wheels.
None of us wish to be fodder for the wheels of your buses, so please educate your drivers to give way and to give room (1.5 metres is all we ask, and that is in the driving theory book) when they are around vulnerable road users. A little consideration and patience saves lives.
Dear Minister Lui and Dr Faishal,
I was there at one of the LTMP focus group discussions in Oct/Nov last year. You have already publicly stated your priority for off-road cycling, and not road cycling. Not a word has been heard since the discussions ended, but I am not waiting with bated breath to hear any good news from you or from LTA.
But I do hope this video (see link below) will convey very clearly the hair-raising encounters cyclists have to endure everyday on our roads, and maybe earn some of your empathy to re-think your position. No, we do not want, nor even wish for, a dedicated bicycle lane; all that most of us ask for are more stringent laws and harsher sentences that will incentivize good driver behaviour and which will serve to protect our backs. The sentences meted out in accidents where drivers have killed cyclists only shows how grossly cheap our lives are. In mind-boggling contrast, a petty thief gets more jail time than a drunk driver who takes the life of a cyclist.
This I say with no disrespect, Sirs - You can choose to address a very real and existent problem, or just simply ignore it. If you opt for the latter, the next time the life of another road cyclist is cruelly taken, I hope you will remember that you HAD the power to save lives.
I have uploaded a video of the two incidences to Youtube http://youtu.be/g3O2RwgBqQg for your edification. Watch carefully, and do try to imagine the 4-foot tall spinning bus wheels passing alongside you just inches away - that is certainly not a nice place where you would want to be.
Sincerely,
Calvin Boo
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Straits Time on Cycling in SG
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| Today in Straits Time Photo by Francis Chu |
GEYLANG Road, Lentor Avenue, Keppel Road towards VivoCity, Balestier Road, Upper Jurong Road.
Cyclists beware.
These are among Singapore's most hazardous roads for cycling, according to a map created by cycling enthusiasts to warn others where they must be extra careful.
In the first eight months of this year, at least 12 cyclists have died. Since 2009, about 16 cyclists have died on the roads each year. Hundreds more get injured in accidents.
The map explains why certain roads are marked hazardous.
Geylang Road, for example, has busy traffic both day and night. Cyclists sometimes ride against traffic, and drivers can cut in and out from side streets.
"We are not asking people to avoid these places because sometimes you have no choice, but we just want to make sure that people ride on the road with their eyes open, and they know what to expect," said Mr Woon Tai Woon, 38, founder of LoveCyclingSG.
Following Mr Khoo's death, 21 cyclists have written open letters to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, exhorting the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to consider measures such as dedicated bicycle lanes and more public education about road rules to cut down the number of fatalities.
Cycling groups say they have already been working with the authorities to try and make the roads safer for the growing number of cyclists in Singapore.
On July 2, some members of LoveCyclingSG met the LTA to appeal for greater rights and protection on the road - including calling for stiffer laws against irresponsible drivers who endanger cyclists, Mr Woon said. "There are drivers who feel that cyclists should not be on the road," said the product designer. "There should be stiffer punishment for such people."
Other suggestions include changes to road design, such as making lanes narrower so that cars are forced to go slower, and making space on public roads for dedicated bicycle lanes.
Mr Steven Choy, 47, a friend of Mr Khoo's, said that bicycle lanes need only be about 1.5m wide to keep drivers and cyclists out of each other's paths. it was time that dedicated lanes be assigned to this growing group.
"These park connectors are used by senior citizens, people out on walks, walking their dogs, it is not safe for them because we are riding at a fast speed," said Ms Joyce Leong, 56, founder of Joyriders, one of the largest local bicycle groups with 1,300 members.
To make roads safer for cyclists, the LTA has put up signs at popular cycling routes warning motorists to be careful. Mr Steven Lim, 45, president of the Safe Cycling Task Force that works with government agencies to promote cycling safety, said "After a while, some of them become like advertisements and are not very conspicuous," he said. "We are trying to see if it will be feasible to put the messages on the road instead."
"Motorists have to start getting used to the idea of sharing the roads with cyclists, but cyclists also have to help themselves and follow the rules,"
yuenc@sph.com.sg
In the first eight months of this year, at least 12 cyclists have died. Since 2009, about 16 cyclists have died on the roads each year. Hundreds more get injured in accidents.
The map explains why certain roads are marked hazardous.
Geylang Road, for example, has busy traffic both day and night. Cyclists sometimes ride against traffic, and drivers can cut in and out from side streets.
"We are not asking people to avoid these places because sometimes you have no choice, but we just want to make sure that people ride on the road with their eyes open, and they know what to expect," said Mr Woon Tai Woon, 38, founder of LoveCyclingSG.
Following Mr Khoo's death, 21 cyclists have written open letters to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, exhorting the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to consider measures such as dedicated bicycle lanes and more public education about road rules to cut down the number of fatalities.
Cycling groups say they have already been working with the authorities to try and make the roads safer for the growing number of cyclists in Singapore.
On July 2, some members of LoveCyclingSG met the LTA to appeal for greater rights and protection on the road - including calling for stiffer laws against irresponsible drivers who endanger cyclists, Mr Woon said. "There are drivers who feel that cyclists should not be on the road," said the product designer. "There should be stiffer punishment for such people."
Other suggestions include changes to road design, such as making lanes narrower so that cars are forced to go slower, and making space on public roads for dedicated bicycle lanes.
Mr Steven Choy, 47, a friend of Mr Khoo's, said that bicycle lanes need only be about 1.5m wide to keep drivers and cyclists out of each other's paths. it was time that dedicated lanes be assigned to this growing group.
"These park connectors are used by senior citizens, people out on walks, walking their dogs, it is not safe for them because we are riding at a fast speed," said Ms Joyce Leong, 56, founder of Joyriders, one of the largest local bicycle groups with 1,300 members.
To make roads safer for cyclists, the LTA has put up signs at popular cycling routes warning motorists to be careful. Mr Steven Lim, 45, president of the Safe Cycling Task Force that works with government agencies to promote cycling safety, said "After a while, some of them become like advertisements and are not very conspicuous," he said. "We are trying to see if it will be feasible to put the messages on the road instead."
"Motorists have to start getting used to the idea of sharing the roads with cyclists, but cyclists also have to help themselves and follow the rules,"
yuenc@sph.com.sg
SG Chinese newspaper on Plead to PM
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