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Cabby in Clementi crash arrested; number of fatal road accidents on the rise: Traffic Police

SINGAPORE — A 54-year-old taxi driver has been arrested in connection with a recent accident in Clementi that killed an undergraduate and injured five others, the police said on Thursday (April 26) as it raised concerns about an increase in fatalities on the road since January.

A screengrab of the recent accident in Clementi between a car and a taxi.

A screengrab of the recent accident in Clementi between a car and a taxi.

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SINGAPORE — A 54-year-old taxi driver has been arrested in connection with a recent accident in Clementi that killed an undergraduate and injured five others, the police said on Thursday (April 26) as it raised concerns about an increase in fatalities on the road since January.

There were 36 fatal accidents between January 1 and April 25 this year, three more than were recorded in the same period last year. Thirty-eight people have died from the accidents so far this year, four more than the same period last year.

The Traffic Police identified the top three causes of fatal accidents this year as: failure to keep a proper lookout while on the road, failure to have proper control of the vehicle, as well as jaywalkers and those who cross roads without paying attention to traffic.

"Accidents at traffic junctions remains a grave concern. It is important for motorists to exercise extra caution and to always slow down when approaching traffic junctions," the police added.

The past week has seen a spate of fatal traffic accidents.

On April 19, 19-year-old Kathy Ong was killed after the taxi she was travelling in with three fellow National University of Singapore undergraduates collided with a car at the traffic junction at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Road.

The taxi driver has been arrested for causing death by a rash act.

Three days later, a 23-year-old woman was killed after the car she was in collided with a bus at the traffic junction of Jalan Anak Bukit and Jalan Jurong Kechil.

The 24-year-old driver of the car has been arrested for causing death by a rash act.

A day later, a father-daughter pair and their elderly friend were killed after a lorry mounted the left kerb and crashed into the trio who were on a pedestrian walkway near the Yio Chu Kang MRT station.

The lorry driver, 25, has been charged for causing death by dangerous driving.

"While the roads in Singapore are generally safe and record one of the lowest road traffic fatality rates in the world, we must not be complacent but continue to stay vigilant when on the roads," said the Traffic Police.

It added that its officers have been actively engaging different groups of road users, such as cyclists, drivers, and motorcyclists, on the importance of road safety.

A recently-concluded month-long enforcement operation against errant heavy vehicle drivers also saw some 1,500 violations detected and the drivers dealt with.

In the Traffic Police's annual road traffic statistics for last year, it noted that the number of fatal accidents decreased to 118 cases in 2017, from 140 cases in 2016.

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