More news report on Ubin Cycling Fatality

Editor's note: With regards to the Straits Times report below, helmets do not cost from $100 upwards. There are cheaper ones available. My helmet cost $25-35. There are also helmets for rent on Ubin. Depending on the shop, it cost about $2-3 to rent a helmet from the bike shops.

母女乌敏岛骑脚踏车失控 母不治 女受伤
2008-09-09
Lianhe Zaobao, 刘丽仪

一家人到乌敏岛骑脚踏车共享天伦，同骑一辆双人座脚踏车的母女在下斜坡时失控，双双抛落路面，母亲伤重不治，女儿右臂擦伤。

这起意外发生在前天下午1时许，地点在乌敏岛的惹兰暹庙。

死者是41岁的家庭主妇李圆英。她的丈夫张新敬（44岁，技术人员）昨天受访时说，事发当天的早上，他想趁着周末全家一起出游，由于从马来西亚来访的岳母没去过乌敏岛，于是提议大家一起到乌敏岛骑脚踏车。

他们夫妻两人、岳母、15岁的女儿和两个儿子（12岁和9岁）于上午11时左右到达乌敏岛，在那里租了四辆脚踏车，其中岳母和大儿子各骑一辆，张新敬和老幺同骑一辆，李圆英则和不会骑脚踏车的大女儿共骑一辆双人座脚踏车。

大约在下午1时，他们六人骑到惹兰暹庙的一家泰国佛寺旧址后就决定折返，准备结束这趟脚踏车之旅。

当李圆英母女骑下斜坡时，就在她们后方的张新敬看到两人的脚踏车急速往下冲，到了斜坡下方时，他听见妻子大声尖叫，随即看到母女两人从脚踏车抛飞，落到路中央。

女儿落地后哭着喊痛，还可自行爬起，但李圆英却一动也不动地躺着，张新敬上前查看，只见她已陷入昏迷，除了头部，连鼻孔也不停流血。他赶紧报警，把妻子送到本岛医院急救。从事发地点到乌敏岛码头的路途中，他还可以看见李圆英仍有呼吸，但到了码头，她似乎已经没了呼吸。

李圆英在下午2时15分左右抵达樟宜综合医院，但因头骨破裂，脑部严重受创而在昨天凌晨12时10分不治。

Woman dies after falling from bike
She was not wearing helmet when she was flung going down a winding slope
Sujin Thomas, Straits Times 10 Sep 08;

THE death of a woman who was flung off her bicycle on Pulau Ubin has highlighted Singaporeans' tendency to skip wearing safety helmets while cycling.

The owner of Yen Fa Bicycle Rental on the island, who gave his name as Mr Sit, said when Mr Tiew Sin Keng, 44, turned up with his family of six on Sunday to rent four bicycles, including two tandem bikes, 'they didn't ask to rent helmets and I didn't offer them either'.

Each helmet costs $2 to rent for an entire day. Despite this low cost, only two in every 100 of his customers ask to rent them along with the bicycles.

Mr Sit, who has 50 bicycles and 10 helmets for rent, said: 'They don't like to wear helmets because they say that they are uncomfortable.'

Mr Tiew confirmed that the shop did not ask whether his family wanted to rent helmets.

His wife, Madam Lee Yan Inn, 41, was on one of the tandem bicycles with their daughter aged 15. They were then going down a winding slope along Jalan Wat Siam, which has an unmarked hump at its foot.

The family's lead rider, Madam Lee's mother, made it down the slope and over the hump safely at low speed.

But Madam Lee and her daughter, who were next, shot down the incline.

Mr Tiew said the hump might have stopped the bike suddenly and flung them off, or that his wife might have braked too hard, throwing her and their daughter off.

Madam Lee died at Changi General Hospital 11 hours later. Their daughter escaped with bruises.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports) Teo Ser Luck, himself an avid cyclist and triathlete, said cyclists should wear helmets for safety - even when riding short distances.

He said a helmet saved him from serious injury two years ago when he was riding in a tight convoy with five others along Upper Thomson Road. His front wheel clipped the rear wheel of another bicycle and he fell, but 'I was fine because I was wearing a helmet'.

He said a friend who fell the same way was also unscathed but his helmet took the impact and cracked.

Depending on the brand, helmets cost upwards of $100 each.

That stretch of road where Madam Lee died is a known accident spot. Other bicycle rental businesses on the island said four accidents happen there every month.

A Land Transport Authority spokesman said that, aside from the usual warning signs like 'Slow' or 'Bend Ahead', additional signs saying 'Caution Steep Slope' have been put up along Jalan Wat Siam.

The president of the Singapore Amateur Cycling Association Victor Yew said that when going down slopes, cyclists should brake gently on their rear wheels.

'If you slam on the front-wheel brakes only, the momentum will cause the bike to flip over,' he said.

For Mr Tiew, tips like these are moot.

He said he would insist that his three children wear protective gear when cycling, but with the memory of how his wife has died, he added: 'I don't think I will cycle ever again.'

Related Reads:
Fatal Cycling Accidents on Ubin, Pulau Ubin Stories, 8 Sep 2008