"An Open Letter to the Minister of Transport, Mr Lui Tuck Yew" by Stephen Choy

"An Open Letter to the Minister of Transport, Mr Lui Tuck Yew"

By Stephen Choy, 2012-08-19

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Dear Minister Lui

My friend is dead.

If, only if, I had written this letter earlier, Freddy might still be able to cycle with me in the next Ironman race.

You see, he died pursuing his hobby. On the morning of 18 August 2012, along Loyang Valley, as he made his way towards Changi Village, he was run over by a truck. I chanced upon the wreckage, not knowing that it was that of my friend’s. I immediately posted a message on FaceBook to remind all my friends to cycle safe. Within minutes, I received the tragic news that that statistic was a friend of mine. He was my buddy in our cycling group, Team Cychos.

Freddy was a good, gentle man. A good husband and a doting father to his 5 year old son. And would have been an equally good father to his unborn child too, I’m sure.

Dear Minister Lui, I am appealing to you as many before me did. I am certain you are aware of the statistics. From 2008 to 2011, there were a total of 70 cyclists killed. That is a horrifying average of 1.46 cyclists killed a month. Sadly, that is not enough to spur your ministry into action to make the roads safer for cyclists.

We are not saying that motorists are completely at fault. We recognize both cyclists and motorists have a part to play in making our roads safer for all. Cyclists must be made aware of how vulnerable they are the moment they mount their bike. Motorists must be educated that, like pedestrians, cyclists too have a right to use the roads. Only when these two groups recognized this and develop a mutual respect will we see a drop in fatalities. Hopefully.

This, however, cannot be done without the Government’s assistance. In a recent article on the dangers of cycling in Singapore, an LTA spokesperson, upon being asked about introducing a cycling lane, declared that this will only give cyclists a false sense of security. A false sense of security??? Isn’t that akin to saying we should not have window grilles at home as they would give our Foreign Domestic Workers a false sense of security when cleaning windows in highrise apartments. I was flabbergasted by this flippant and dismissive response. Isn’t that the purpose of a cycling lane? To remind cyclists to stay within the allotted 1.5m and for motorists to be aware of cyclists within this lane so that we all can be safe. So that we all can go home to our loved ones. So that we all can continue to pursue our passions. Safely.

To the spokesperson from LTA, I say shame on you. Shame on you for taking the easy way out. If NParks is able to build 300km of park connectors (by 2015), surely the LTA is capable of painting a 1.5m lane on our roads. This is merely the width of 2 carton boxes. Are cyclists not worth that. If having cycling lanes islandwide prove too daunting a task, then perhaps we can start small, start a pilot project to paint only the more popular (and dangerous) cycling routes - Neo Tew Avenue, Mandai Road, Changi Coastal Road, Upper Thompson Road, West Coast Highway. I am sure the Singapore Cycling Federation, Singapore Amateur Cycling Association, Singapore Sports Council and perhaps even cycling clubs, especially the bigger ones like Joyriders and Anzac can advise LTA on this.

From 2010 to January 2012, there were 21 work-related height fatalities of Foreign Domestic Workers. This monthly average of 0.58 was enough for the Ministry of Manpower to implement a new rule forbidding FDW to clean the outside of windows. The ministry also felt the need to double the penalties (from the current $5,000 fine and/or six months' jail to $10,000 fine and/or 12 months' jail) to serve as added deterrence to employers.

Minister Lui, if 21 FDW were enough to get a new legislation in place, surely Freddy and the deaths of 70 other cyclists deserve an urgent re-look at how to make our roads safer. I appeal to you not to let more people die before the rest of us are able to pursue our hobby safely.

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"Cyclist's friend writes to minister: My friend is dead," by Koh Hui Theng. The New Paper, 22 Aug 2012.

SINGAPORE - Shaken by his friend's death, Mr Stephen Choy wrote an open letter to Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew on Saturday.

"My friend is dead," he said.

"If only I had written this letter earlier, Freddy might still be able to cycle with me in the next Ironman race.

"You see, he died pursuing his hobby."

On Saturday morning, bank employee Freddy Khoo, 48, was cycling with two friends along Loyang Avenue when a lorry collided with them.

A police spokesman said Mr Khoo was the last among the trio to be hit. His buddies suffered abrasions and did not require hospitalisation.

But Mr Khoo had severe injuries and was sent to Changi General Hospital, where he later died.

He leaves behind his pregnant wife Tiffany and a six-year-old son.

An avid triathlete, MrKhoo had taken part in several half-Ironman races. He is a member of different cycling groups including Team Cychos.

On weekends, he would usually start cycling around 6.30am or 7am, Mr Choy, his friend and fellow Team Cychos member, told The New Paper.

Crushed

Mr Choy, who works in advertising, had passed the accident spot that very morning - he had been in a car heading to Changi Village for breakfast.

"I whipped out my iPad when I saw the wreckage and posted a message on (social network) Facebook to remind all my friends to cycle safe. Within minutes, I received the tragic news, Fred was down," he added.

"The wreckage was that of my friend's."

Speaking to TNP before he attended the wake last night, Mr Choy, 47, recalled: "Looking at the wreckage, at how small the bike had been crushed to... for it to be crushed to that condition, I knew he had been run over.

"Fred did not stand a chance. I heard he was hit from the back."

That was why Mr Choy was moved to pen the letter, which he also sent to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and to his MPs in East Coast GRC.

In it, he implored the authorities to do something to make the roads safer.

"From 2008 to 2011, there were a total of 70 cyclists killed. That is a horrifying average of 1.46 cyclists killed a month," he wrote in his letter.

"Sadly, that is not enough to spur your ministry into action to make the roads safer for cyclists." While both cyclists and motorists have a part to play in making the roads safer, Mr Choy said that government assistance was also needed to help reduce fatalities.

He cited the debate about introducing cycling lanes and quoted a Land Transport Authority spokesman as saying this would give cyclists a false sense of security. (It was Mr Lui who said this in reply to a question in Parliament in March.)

"I was flabbergasted by this flippant and dismissive response... If NParks is able to build 300km of park connectors, surely the LTA is capable of painting a 1.5m lane on our roads...

"Are cyclists not worth that?" he asked. "Surely Freddy and the deaths of 70 other cyclists deserve an urgent re-look at how to make our roads safer."

Mr Choy suggested a pilot scheme to paint only the more popular (and dangerous) cycling routes - Neo Tew Avenue, Mandai Road, Changi Coastal Road, Upper Thompson Road, West Coast Highway.

But he admitted that he does not think anything will come of his action.

"I'm not the first to write this... Hopefully, enough people will circulate it and it'll be enough for them (the authorities) to act."

When TNP visited Mr Khoo's wake, his wife declined to speak to the media. Dressed in white, she cried as she spoke to those who came to pay their respects.

Several men wearing white sat silently at the back of the void deck, staring into space.

A bespectacled man seemed surprised when told about Mr Choy's open letter.

He said: "The authorities should do something about this and improve road safety."

Upon hearing the conversation, another man walked up to talk about the lorry driver, who has been arrested and is helping the police in their investigations.

Mr Choy, who has known Mr Khoo since 2009, usually cycles in the Changi-Loyang area at 5am. He said Mr Khoo preferred to start later, at around 7am.

But that was when traffic would get heavier in the area, with "a lot of trucks zooming towards the cargo complex".

Adding that Mr Khoo had been training for a triathlon, Mr Choy said: "I've raced with Fred twice in Aviva events. It's sad that I won't get the chance to do so any more."