Couple hurt after bike hits braking car
Motorcyclist and wife hurt in accident on MCE, blames driver for driving recklessly
As his motorcycle skidded, all he could think about was the safety of his wife, who was riding pillion.
Mr Muhd Siddiq, 26, and his wife, Madam Siti Zafirah, 25, tumbled onto the road after his bike was involved in an accident with a car on the right-most lane of the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) tunnel.
The impact of the crash caused the couple, who are both nurses, to fall onto the second right-most lane.
Mr Siddiq told The New Paper yesterday: "All I was thinking of was my wife. I was so worried she might be hit by oncoming traffic."
Fortunately, the vehicles behind them managed to stop in time.
The accident occurred last Wednesday at around 6.45pm,soon after Mr Siddiq had picked up his wife from her workplace to head to her mother's home in Pasir Ris.
Just as his bike entered the expressway and approached a Toyota Altis from behind, the car braked suddenly.
Mr Siddiq said he had to jam on the brakes of his Honda Super 4 motorbike to avoid hitting the rear of the car.
He then noticed that the Toyota driver was using his mobile phone while driving, which angered him.
"He was clearly distracted by his phone. I wanted to tell him to stop so I sounded my horn at him," he said.
He said the driver reacted to his horn by braking suddenly a few more times.
A video of the incident, caught on the in-car camera of another driver, Mr Andrew James Manktelow, shows the motorbike travelling near the broken white line separating the two lanes.
IRRESPONSIBLE
When Mr Siddiq tries to overtake the Toyota from the left in the space between it and another car on the second right-most lane, the Toyota driver swerves left slightly and brakes to block off the space, causing the bike to knock into it.
Mr Siddiq said: "He just blocked us off and slammed his brakes. There was nothing I could do to avoid it."
By the time Mr Siddiq picked himself up after the crash and checked on his wife, the Toyota had sped off.
He said: "He endangered my wife and damaged my bike."
He added that he wanted the driver to be caught as "it was very irresponsible that he didn't take ownership for what he did".
Mr Manktelow said he was driving with his wife and children behind Mr Siddiq when the accident occurred.
"I could clearly see that the car had cut off the motorcycle and was absolutely shocked when it braked," said the 46-year-old British national.
He immediately stopped his car, and he and his wife went to help the injured couple.
It didn't occur to him at the time to note down the licence plate number of the car because he had video footage of the incident.
"We were unable to get the licence plate number as the video was too blurry," he added.
The video has been uploaded on Facebook and is also available on the YouTube channel of the Singapore Reckless Drivers community.
According to Traffic Police, in 60 per cent of accidents involving motorcyclists, other motorists were to blame. (See report on facing page.)
Mr Siddiq sprained his left wrist while Madam Siti had multiple abrasions on her hand and legs.
He has recovered but his wife has to get her wounds dressed every alternate day and is only expected to fully recover after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
To make things worse, he has to hold off repairing his motorcycle as he plans to make an insurance claim against the driver if he can be tracked down.
POLICE REPORT
When Mr Siddiq went to make a police report at the Traffic Police headquarters the next day, he was surprised to see Mr Manktelow there.
"He didn't have to lodge a police report to help me but he wanted to anyway," Mr Siddiq said.
"I didn't even ask him to help. I'm really thankful for everything he's done for us."
Asked why he went the extra mile to help a stranger, Mr Mantkelow said: "If there's someone who needs help, I will help them.
"I hope that if I were ever in the same position, someone would do the same for me."
In the end, they decided that Mr Siddiq would make the police report.
Investigations are ongoing.
Anyone with information can report traffic violations via e-services on the Singapore Police Force website.
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