Lorry ferrying passengers rear-ends trailer on KJE, 10 people sent to hospital
Ten people were taken to hospital after a lorry carrying passengers on its deck rear-ended a trailer on the Kranji Expressway (KJE) on the evening of March 10.
A video uploaded to SG Road Vigilante shows a lorry approaching an orange trailer as it travels down the leftmost lane. Even though the trailer slows to a stop, the lorry continues at its usual speed.
At the last second, the lorry applies its emergency brake, and a person sitting at the back flies forward. The force of the crash lifts the lorry's rear as the driver's cabin crumples.
The vehicle recording the dashcam footage continues down the middle lane, showing a line of slow-moving vehicles — mostly heavy vehicles – ahead of the trailer.
In response to Stomp’s queries, an SCDF spokesperson said it was alerted to a road traffic accident along KJE towards Tuas before the Choa Chu Kang Drive exit at about 6pm.
In a separate statement, the police said that nine lorry passengers — aged between 30 and 48 — and a 39-year-old lorry driver were conveyed conscious to the hospital.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Netizens call for improved safety measures
Netizens accused the driver of being distracted by their phone and expressed concern towards the passengers at the back of the lorry.
“Either playing with a phone or watching movie, so common nowadays to see such drivers,” one Facebook user said.
Some took the opportunity to stress that workers should not be ferried at the back of lorries.
On March 4, Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling announced that workers cannot be ferried in caged lorry decks from Jan 1, 2027.
This is to ensure workers’ safety and is part of a broader set of measures, such as lower speed limits and minimum space requirements, The Straits Times reported.
Caged lorries present additional safety risks to passengers, especially in the event of an accident. “For example, if a lorry with a cage door that is latched or locked from the outside is involved in an accident or a fire, workers may not be able to escape,” said Ms Sun.
Based on an LTA survey, lorries with caged decks comprise around 1 to 2 per cent of approximately 50,000 lorries in Singapore.
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