E-bike rider crashes into back of car in Woodlands after staring at phone for too long

An electric bicycle (e-bike) rider crashed into the back of a car in Woodlands after he appeared to have been staring at his mobile phone for too long.

He did not have sufficient time to react to the stationary vehicle in front of him.

A video of the crash was put up online by the car driver, who claimed that the e-bike rider subsequently could not be contacted in the aftermath of the crash, despite exchanging contact information.

According to the video's caption, the incident took place on Feb. 23 at about 6pm.

What video showed

The clip showed the e-bike rider without a helmet travelling along Woodlands Street 13.

As the rider, who appeared to be a food delivery rider, approached the bend, he was looking down at this mounted phone and failed to slow down at the traffic light.

By the time he looked up and realised he was unable to stop in time, he had about 2 seconds or less to brake.

He appeared to try to slow down, and put both his feet down on the road, but was still unable to slow down sufficiently.

According to Google Maps of Woodlands Street 13, he covered a distance of 100m in about 9 seconds, or at a speed of about 40km/h.

He was apparently not pedalling at the time to achieve this speed as both his feet were resting on the device he was riding.

The car he hit from behind was stationary at the time, as it was waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

The caption of the video claimed that the e-bike rider declined to call the police or ambulance, and subsequently became uncontactable.

Responses

Responses to the video commiserated with the car driver for bearing the brunt of the accident.

Others noted that law-abiding motorists are disadvantaged in such situations as these riders may not have adequate insurance coverage and it is difficult to seek recourse.

Moreover, riding on the road without a helmet is an offence, as some also noted.

Commenters also pointed out that if the man's e-bike was able to sustain speed without him pedalling, it may have been illegally modified.

Top photos via SG Road Vigilante