SINGAPORE: The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Saturday (May 24) evening it will conduct a safety review following an accident at Woodlands Checkpoint earlier in the morning which “should not have happened”.
An accident occurred at Woodlands Checkpoint at 5.28am after a departing Singapore-registered car collided with an arriving Malaysia-registered bus along the Causeway.
Preliminary investigations into the accident found that the contraflow operation was activated before barriers were put in place, which was not in accordance with safety procedures, the agency added.
“This accident should not have happened. ICA is treating it very seriously, and we are assisting the Traffic Police who are investigating the accident.”
The police told CNA that the car driver, a 48-year-old man, and his three passengers, aged between 14 and 78, were transported conscious to the hospital and investigations are ongoing.
There were no reported injuries among the bus passengers, while the bus driver declined medical assistance, ICA said.
In a Facebook update at 9.09am, ICA said that all lanes were opened for departing traffic, nearly four hours after the incident occurred.
The agency also noted that it has been conducting the contraflow traffic management operations at the Singapore side of the Causeway to ease traffic congestion during daily peak timings.
This includes converting the departure lane for heavy vehicles at the Causeway into an arrival lane to facilitate the arrival of heavy vehicles which may be blocking traffic along the land crossing.
“During this time, should the departing car traffic surge, part of the departure cargo zone may be converted to clear cars departing Woodlands Checkpoint, to minimise the tailback of traffic along the BKE (Bukit Timah Expressway),” said ICA.
ICA added that as part of its safety procedures, barriers would be set up to divert departing car traffic away from the contraflow lane, which is when arriving heavy vehicles use the departure lane meant for heavy vehicles.
The agency said it activated a safety pause by suspending contraflow operations over the weekend at both land checkpoints at Woodlands and Tuas immediately after the accident.
“We will comprehensively review our safety measures before restarting the contraflow operations. Motorists can expect some delays in the interim and we apologise for any inconvenience,” ICA added.
