Police investigating cyclist incident caught in viral video: Faishal
[Updated on 25 October 2013, 8pm: Added response from Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim]
The Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said that the police are already investigating the two incidents involving a cyclist who had appeared in not just one, but two videos, of him getting into a brawl with two drivers in two respective cases.
Faishal posted the response on his Facebook page on Friday after receiving requests from the public for his opinion on the matter, he claimed.
He also said, "Instead of assigning blame, it is important for us to remember that we must be gracious and respect one another on the roads....when we demonstrate courtesy and empathy, our roads will be safer for everyone."
This comes after a recent report showed that an incident had happen near VivoCity mall on 16 September. A woman driver had collided into the cyclist, apparently identified as Mr Keneth, upon turning into her condominium, Caribbean at Keppel Bay.
The driver reportedly claimed that she had signalled and checked her blind spot before making the turn and appears to have not seen the rider while doing so.
After the minor collision, the Caucasian rider then dismounted from his bicycle and went over to hit his hand onto the car window, shocking the 41-year-old woman driver.
He then reportedly shouted abuse and tried to open the door when the window was rolled down.
The incident was captured via closed-circuit television camera, viewed from the condominium's guard house.
The woman driver had reportedly made a police report on the matter and identified him as the same cyclist caught in another video that had emerged online.
The video shows another incident involving the cyclist, which happened near VivoCity recently.
The cyclist was seen in the video cruising into the middle of a traffic junction while the red light was still on.
The cyclist went on to annoy the driver by cycling slowly at the front, swerving from left to right, constantly looking back at the driver and showing a hand gesture as if asking for a fight.
When both road users finally turned right towards the shopping mall, both vehicles finally stopped and the cyclist was seen trying to confront the driver. The footage ends here.
The rule says that cyclists in Singapore are only allowed on the left side of the road unless they are overtaking another vehicle.
The silent 2:14 video was posted on YouTube on Tuesday. The video has been shared widely on Facebook and has over 14,000 views.
Commenting on YouTube, a cyclist said, “I am a cyclist myself and sometimes I do use the route there. I am definitely sure the fault lies in the cyclist. If he wants a fight, he can stop on the pavement and duke it out without blocking the cars behind him. The cyclist does not represent the whole cycling body in Singapore so do not say all cyclist should get off the road. Some of us really don't want to be in the way of cars but we can't help it! I hope you people can understand!”
Another cyclist said, “I am a cyclist myself and we should always keep left. If we need to turn right, we ought to use the pedestrian crossing. Major roads are not made for cycling.”
For the record, cyclists in Singapore are allowed to use the pedestrian crossing provided that they dismount and push their bicycles, said in the safe cycling guidelines by the police. Cyclists should not cycle across pedestrian crossings.
