Protection Panels for Motorcyclists in Singapore
Shocking statistics have shown that for every 25 road users who died, 9 of them were motorists. Furthermore, just last year, more than half of all traffic accidents in Singapore were attributed to motorcyclists. This has prompted the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to implement a motorcyclist protection system.
(Image taken from ST File)
Panels will be added along a 230m stretch of slip road linking the Bukit Timah Expressway and the Pan Island Expressway, and they will be placed below the guard rails. This helps to cushion skidding motorists who hit the posts of guard rails and also diminishes the chance of them sliding off the road.
It is estimated that installation works will be completed in the 3rd quarter of the year and LTA will then study the effectiveness of the motorcyclist protection system. If successful, the system could then be extended to the rest of the island to reduce fatality and injury rates for the motorcyclists. The Chairman of the Singapore Road Safety Council, Bernard Tay, also said that the panels will also “prevent motorcyclists from slipping through the gap between the road and the guard rail”, which could have led to disastrous injuries.
The type of material used for the panels will be decided based on tender proposals from contractors, which started in February this year. Currently, there is no update as to whether installation works have started but they should be starting in the second quarter of the year.