PHV Crashes Into Car, Mounts Kerb and Narrowly Misses Vehicles in Chai Chee Street Near-Miss
SINGAPORE — A private-hire vehicle came dangerously close to causing a much more serious accident after it collided with another car, mounted a kerb and swerved through traffic at a busy junction in eastern Singapore.
Dashcam footage of the incident, which happened at the junction of Bedok North Road and Chai Chee Street, showed a black Hyundai narrowly avoiding several other road users before the vehicle continued down the road.
The video was posted on the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page on Sunday, Sept. 6, and had attracted more than 100,000 views by Monday evening.
PHV appears to lose control after collision
In the footage, the black Hyundai, which is registered under Singapore's chauffeured private-hire scheme, can be seen approaching the junction.
The vehicle appeared to fail to complete a right turn and subsequently mounted the kerb.
According to the video and accompanying account, the Hyundai had allegedly struck another vehicle before the portion captured on camera. These circumstances have not been independently established by police.
The vehicle then made a sharp turn as a motorcyclist passed nearby.
The motorcyclist appeared to narrowly escape being struck, managing to move out of the Hyundai's path in time.
Vehicle crosses into oncoming traffic
The situation became even more dangerous moments later when the Hyundai crossed into the path of oncoming traffic.
The dashcam vehicle appeared to be directly in its path before the Hyundai suddenly swerved away and returned toward its lane.
The near miss could have resulted in a much more serious chain collision, given the number of vehicles moving through the junction.
Another person was also seen stepping out of a vehicle and filming the incident on a mobile phone before returning to the car as the footage ended.
Some people who commented on the video claimed they later saw the Hyundai in a ditch further along the road. Those accounts, however, have not been independently verified.
Police confirm three-car accident
The Singapore Police Force confirmed to AsiaOne that officers were alerted at about 1.30pm on Sunday to an accident involving three cars at the junction.
A 33-year-old male car driver was taken to Changi General Hospital while conscious.
Police said he is assisting with ongoing investigations.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force also responded to the incident.
Authorities have not publicly established the cause of the crash, and there has been no confirmation that the PHV driver's actions were linked to alcohol, drugs or a medical condition.
Online speculation follows viral footage
The dramatic footage quickly prompted speculation online about what may have caused the driver's behaviour.
Some commenters questioned whether the driver could have been experiencing a medical emergency or operating the vehicle while impaired.
However, those remain unverified claims.
There is currently no official indication that the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and it would be premature to draw conclusions from the video alone.
Investigators will need to establish what happened before the initial collision and why the vehicle continued through the junction.
A narrow escape for several road users
The footage highlights how quickly a traffic accident can escalate at a busy Singapore junction.
The Hyundai came close to a motorcyclist, an approaching car and other vehicles within a matter of seconds.
Even a slight difference in timing could have resulted in a direct collision involving multiple road users.
Singapore has strict traffic regulations partly because dense urban roads leave drivers little room to recover when a vehicle suddenly loses control.
Investigation remains ongoing
For now, police have confirmed the accident and the hospitalisation of the 33-year-old driver, but further details about the circumstances remain under investigation.
The viral video provides a glimpse of the moments after the incident began, but investigators will need to examine the full sequence of events, vehicle damage and other available evidence before determining responsibility.
No conclusion about the PHV driver's cause of action or possible offences should therefore be drawn solely from social-media footage.
What is clear is that several road users narrowly avoided what could have become a far more serious accident on Chai Chee Street.
The incident is another reminder that on Singapore's busy roads, a few seconds can be the difference between a frightening near miss and a major collision.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D