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.
The driver of the car as well as his three passengers were transported to the hospital, while there were no reported injuries among the bus passengers, ICA said.
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."
ICA said 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 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 (Bukit Timah Expressway)," said ICA.
ICA added that as part of its safety procedures, it would set up barriers to divert departing car traffic away from the contraflow lane, which is when arriving heavy vehicles are using 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 said.
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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.
The driver of the car as well as his three passengers were transported to the hospital, while there were no reported injuries among the bus passengers, ICA said.
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."
ICA said 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 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 (Bukit Timah Expressway)," said ICA.
ICA added that as part of its safety procedures, it would set up barriers to divert departing car traffic away from the contraflow lane, which is when arriving heavy vehicles are using 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 said.
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