LTA to change traffic light timings at Ferrari crash junction

SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Monday evening that it would synchronise the timings of the traffic lights where two accidents occurred within a span of just two weeks.

A local news source reported that the traffic signals at the junction of Rochor Road and Victoria Street and the pedestrian crossing linking Bugis Junction and Bugis Village will now turn green at about the same time.

LTA said it was just an "added precautionary measure".

While LTA said it was implementing the change based on feedback from the public, it found no issues with the existing traffic scheme at the location.
 
The call for improvment to the traffic signals at the junction of Rochor Road and Victoria Street came in the wake of two accidents which claimed the lives of three and three others injured. 

The first accident on May 12 involved a speeding Ferrari, while the second accident on May 26 involved a Lexus. Both cars crashed into taxis.

Both accidents happened in the wee hours on a Saturday and involved cars travelling in the same direction.

Suggesting one theory on how the accidents might have happened is Dr Lee Der-Horng, associate professor of civil engineering at the National University of Singapore, who said the timing of the traffic signals might have been a factor in the accidents.

"One possibility is at the pedestrian crossing, maybe the driver tried to beat the yellow signal. 
"So after he travelled the 50, 60 metres, when he reached the major intersection, the traffic signal already turned to red," he said.

Dr Lee feels that the intersection is actually satisfactory from the safety's point of view.
But added that perhaps, overhead traffic lights would give drivers a better view of the signal.

After careful evaluation of the traffic signal configuration, LTA found that the traffic lights at the junction are distinct and can be clearly seen by the driver, whichever lane they are driving on.

LTA had deployed its traffic engineers to drive through the junction of Victoria Street and Rochor Road during the day and in the middle of the night to film the line of sight from a driver's perspective.

 "The traffic planning engineers have conducted a careful evaluation of the traffic signal configuration, and assessed that there are no issues with the existing traffic scheme at that location," LTA said.
The Singapore Road Safety Council also weighed in and said it will consider the need to tighten specific road safety measures, after police investigations into the two accidents are completed.

Ferrari driver complained of lack of roads here for high-speed driving

SINGAPORE - Mr Ma Chi, 31, who passed away after his red Ferrari crashed into a taxi while he was speeding to beat the red light, reportedly told an ex-colleague that he had no intention to stay in Singapore long-term as there was no place to drive his supercar at high speeds.

"The Lion City's too small, with no roads for driving at high speed," he told former colleague Zhong Yi in 2009.

According to The Beijing News, friends had mentioned that Mr Ma liked to drive in the middle of the night because there were less cars on the road.

The Straits Times reported that he owns another luxury sports car - an Infiniti, which costs at least 400,000 yuan (S$79,600). He keeps the car in his native province of Sichuan.

According to the English daily, Mr Ma first came to Singapore four years ago with his wife and child in 2008.

Friends said he was a hard-working and righteous person who worked as a financial investor. He was also applying for permanent residency in Singapore.

He died at the scene on May 4 while cabby Cheng Teck Hock and passenger Shigemi Ito died in hospital.

Mr Zhong said he himself had been in a car accident back in 2003, when he had been driving too fast and suffered a concussion from the accident.

He told Beijing News that he regretted not telling Mr Ma about, and sharing lessons learnt from the unfortunate experience.

Ferrari crash junction, red light rogues still beat light

The junction where the accident occurred is notorious for motorists running the red light.

Netizens have claimed that, as a result, there have been countless near misses at the junction of Victoria Street and Rochor Road.

Just two Saturdays ago, three people were killed after a Ferrari driver allegedly ignored a red light there before crashing into a taxi.

The Ferrari driver, Mr Ma Chi, 31, a Chinese national, died at the scene.

The taxi driver, Mr Cheng Teck Hock, 52, and his Japanese passenger, Ms Shigemi Ito, 41, died in hospital.

The situation is worse on Fridays and Saturdays, netizens said, as revellers leave watering holes at places like Boat Quay and Orchard Road and head down Victoria Street towards Kallang.

Two weeks after the accident, The New Paper waited at the same junction from 1am to 4am on Saturday. How bad was it?

Despite the accident, some motorists still blatantly beat the red lights at the junction.

Three cars, two taxis and a motorcycle ran the light when TNP was at the junction.

The first offender, a motorcyclist, was spotted at 1.30am.

He rode down Victoria Street and turned left into Rochor Road even though the light had turned red.

Traffic at the junction became less heavy soon after.

But between 3am and 4am, as clubbers left from a night of partying, the roads became crowded again with cars revving their engines.

Most of the vehicles were travelling from the city down Victoria Street towards Kallang.

A dark-coloured car beat the red light at 3am about five seconds after it changed from green.

About 15 minutes later, another car and a taxi were seen doing the same.

A light-coloured car, this time travelling from the East Coast Parkway down Rochor Road, beat the red light soon after at 3.25am.

About five minutes after this, another taxi travelling down Victoria Street was spotted doing likewise as it turned into Rochor Road.

No camera 

The junction isn't fitted with a red-light camera.

The offence of jumping a red light carries a six- month jail term.

But first offenders are usually fined up to $1,000 and given 12 demerit points. Any motorist who accumulates 24 or more demerit points within two years will be barred from driving for a year.

Motorists whom TNP spoke to said that another accident at the junction is imminent if fellow road users continue beating the red light there.

One motorist, Mr Trevor Chan, 36, who works in the sales line, said: "Maybe it's time that the authorities install a red-light camera at the junction. Only then would motorists stop breaking the law there."

A primary school teacher, who declined to be named, felt the same way.

"This is the only way to stop these irresponsible motorists from breaking the law," she said.

Ferrari accident: Cabby's family receives $170,000 in donations

SINGAPORE - Donations have been pouring in for late cabby Cheng Teck Hock's family.
According to mypaper, ComfortDelGro had collected about $170,000, as of Friday.

Tammy Tan, ComfortDelGro's group corporate communications officer told mypaper that staff, cabbies and the public have been generous, and the highest amount for a single donation was $30,000 from an anonymous donor.

Mr Cheng, 52, died in an accident on May 12. He had been driving his taxi past the junction of Rochor Road and Victoria Street when his car was hit by a Ferrari.

Both the Ferrari driver, Mr Ma Chi, and the taxi's passenger, Ms Shigemi Ito, also died in the accident.

Mr Cheng was the sole breadwinner for the family, and his family faced financial difficulties. His three children need help with school fees.

The National Taxi Association (NTA) was also working closely with ComfortDelGro to help the family financially, according to reports.

NTA said that fellow taxi drivers and the public have made donations, with two cabbies making a $5,000 donation each.

A group of staff and merchants at Sim Lim Square have also pooled together a combined donation amount of $10,000.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and MP for Nee Soon GRC, Mr K Shanmugan said in a Facebook post on Friday that he has spoken to several government agencies, a Foundation and grassroots leaders.

They are trying to help the family in a "structured and sustained way", but will speak with the family to assess their needs when they are ready.

Mr Shanmugan said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he told Cheng's 21-year-old daughter not to worry about university fees as long as she qualifies for a local university. He also reassured Mdm Lim that he and his grassroots leaders will help ease her family's financial problems.

ComfortDelGro is still collecting donations until the end of the month.

Cheque donations can be dropped off at the general service counter on level 1 of the ComfortDelGro office located at 383 Sin Ming Drive.

Cheques should be made payable to his wife, Mdm Lim Choo Eng.

They can also be mailed to:

THE CHENG FAMILY c/o Comfort Transportation Pte Ltd 383 Sin Ming Drive Singapore 575717 Attn: Customer Service Centre

Cash donations can be made at the cashier next to the general service counter. The office is open from 8am to 5.30pm from Monday to Friday.

THE CHENG FAMILY c/o Comfort Transportation Pte Ltd 383 Sin Ming Drive Singapore 575717 Attn: Customer Service Centre
Cash donations can be made at the cashier next to the general service counter. The office is open from 8am to 5.30pm from Monday to Friday.

Japanese passenger killed in horror crash identified

SINGAPORE - The passenger in a taxi that was hit by a Ferrari which crashed into it on Saturday has been identified.

Ms Shigemi Ito, who is believed to be in her 20s, was sent to the Singapore General Hospital after the accident at Bugis, but died shortly after.

Her parents and brother were seen at a funeral parlour at Sin Ming drive on Monday, where her wake was being held, reported The Straits Times. They declined to speak to the media.

Ms Ito was working and living in Singapore.

Friends of Ms Ito received an SMS yesterday from a man who signed off as T.C. Thio, informing them of her death and details of the wake.

The man also said in the message that he was her boyfriend.

The three-vehicle accident which involved a Ferrari, taxi and motorcycle also claimed two other lives - Ferrari driver Mr Ma Chi, 31, a private investor from Sichuan, and cabby Cheng Teck Hock, 52.

Mr Ma's female companion, believed to be in her 20s, is reportedly in stable condition at Tan Tock Seng hospital.

Video clip shows Ferrari speeding, beating the red light

SINGAPORE - The Ferrari involved in a horrific crash was caught on camera speeding and beating the red light before smashing into a taxi.

Video footage of the incident shows the red supercar slamming into the taxi five seconds after the traffic light turned green in the favour of the taxi at the junction of Victoria Street and Rochor Road.

ComfortDelGro taxi driver, who only wanted to be known as Mr Yeo, handed the two-minute long video over to Shin Min Daily news. Mr Yeo was travelling in his taxi at about 4am that Saturday morning when he witnessed the accident. The footage was shot via his in-car camera.

The video shows the 50-year-old cabby, who was driving four passengers to Newton Circus, travelling along North Bridge Road. Before he could make a right turn into Rochor Road, he stopped in the second lane from the left at the notorious junction as the lights had turned red.

On Mr Yeo's right was the ill-fated ComfortDelGro cab.

Once the lights turned green in Mr Yeo's favour, the cab on his right moved off immediately. The cab was barely one car length in front of Mr Yeo's vehicle when the Ferrari slammed into it.

The video shows a five-second interval between the traffic light turning green and the Ferrari crashing into the taxi.

Mr Yeo said that he did not realise it was a Ferrari at first as the red shadow was so fast he could not make it out. He estimates that the driver was travelling at more than 100kmh.

He also thought the accident was minor. He only realised how close he was to death when he reviewed the video footage later that day.

He went to pray at about 6am before heading home and sharing the incident with his wife and children.

Those who witnessed the accident can call the police at 1800-547-1818.

High-end cars winning market race as COE supply shrinks

Premium brands are expected to account for more than half of new car sales next year as the certificate of entitlement (COE) supply shrinks to an all-time low and prices remain high.

Already, these brands, ranging from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi to Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce, are poised to garner about 46 per cent of sales this year.

This is up from 33 per cent last year and below 10 per cent in the past several decades.

Audi Singapore managing director Reinhold Carl predicted: 'The premium brands will account for more than half of new car sales next year.'