Cyclist hospitalised after wheel gets caught in drain cover

Singapore – A cyclist’s wheel got stuck in a roadside drain cover, causing him to fly forward and get injured.

Pictures of the accident were uploaded to Facebook page ROADS.sg on Tuesday (Jan 19). “Drain grating can be dangerous for all cyclists using our roads,” read the caption. “The LTA (Land Transport Authority) should review and change all our current drain covers that are not perpendicular to the cement curb.”

The photos showed the drain cover had gratings that were parallel to the direction of road users, posing a danger to cyclists as their wheels could slip into the drain and get stuck.

According to the post, a Myanmar man was hospitalised when his bicycle’s wheel got caught on a roadside drain cover along Changi Coast Walk on Jan 16.

“This may be another reason why cyclists are also forced to ride further out from the curb,” noted ROADS.sg.

The page also uploaded photos of how the roadside draining system should be positioned. When perpendicular to road users’ direction, the chances of slim wheels getting caught in between are minimised.

Photos of the victim lying on the ground while being attended to by paramedics and another while in the hospital ward were included in the post.

“Cyclists have unfortunately had to deal with this issue for a long time,” the post continued. It attached a similar issue highlighted in lovecycling.net, a page dedicated to Singapore cyclists.

“Since there is no dedicated bicycle lane in Singapore, cyclists, being the slower moving vehicle, is (sic) advised by traffic rules to ride ‘close’ to the left side of the slowest lane,” noted the website.

“However, the very space is the most neglected area for road construction and maintenance. The poor condition of the drainage grill is a clear example of such oversight. Embedded in the design is the danger of unexpected accidents: trapped wheels, slippery and uneven height.”

ROADS.sg shared another incident caught on a dashboard camera of a cyclist falling over to the sidewalk after his wheels got caught in the drain gratings.

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