Drivers slowed, but they just took photos

Her husband has been lying unconscious in hospital with severe injuries since last Saturday after his motorcycle was involved in an accident on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE).

Madam Indahsari Rachmad Sophian, 33, who was riding pillion, can consider herself fortunate to escape with a fractured toe and abrasions to the right side of her body.

But her biggest concern is finding out how her husband, Mr Muhammad Sulhiddin Mardini, 35, ended up with such serious injuries as a fractured neck, spine and ribcage, a broken jaw and ruptured lung from what started as a tumble from his Yamaha FZ16.

Madam Indahsari, a housewife, told The New Paper yesterday that she has no idea how the accident happened.

They had earlier gone to Raffles Hospital, where Mr Sulhiddin got a vaccination because he was to leave for a job in Sri Lanka the next day.

The freelance rope access supervisor, the sole breadwinner in the family, had been unemployed for the past five months.

The couple, who have two boys aged nine and four, were heading to Mr Sulhiddin's parents' home in Bukit Batok to celebrate their younger son's birthday when tragedy struck as they rode on the right-most lane of the PIE before the Eng Neo exit.

Madam Indahsari said: "It was about 9.40pm and traffic was quite heavy. I hugged my husband and rested my head on his left shoulder. Then I felt something graze the right side of my body."

She said she had no chance to see what had sideswiped them as her husband tried in vain to control the bike before they fell onto the second lane from the right.

"My husband's helmet came off and I saw him writhing in pain. So I tried to stand up to stop oncoming vehicles from running us over," she said.

GRAZED AGAIN

But before she could do that, she felt something graze the side of her helmet, causing her to fall back onto the road.

By the time she got up, she could not see what had hit her. Then she realised that Mr Sulhiddin, who was lying on the road near her, was coughing out blood.

"He was struggling to breathe, then he started choking on his own blood," she said.

"I didn't know if he was run over by whatever grazed me, but he had trouble breathing and sustained more serious injuries.

"We were both lying on the road, several cars swerved to avoid us, but no one stopped to help."

Finally, another couple on a motorcycle stopped to render assistance.

Mr Muhammad Aniq Rusli, 30, who was heading home with his wife, said: "When I got closer, I saw the couple lying on the road. The wife was crying and holding her husband, who was unresponsive."

The civil servant parked his motorcycle to block other motorists from the injured couple before he and his wife carried Madam Indahsari to the road divider.

He then tended to Mr Sulhiddin.

"He was barely conscious, and he coughed up so much blood that it stained my shirt. His head injury seemed severe, and his neck was swollen, so I didn't want to move him," he said.

Mr Aniq told TNP that a driver in his early 40s also stopped to render help and call for an ambulance.

"While I was with the rider, I saw two cars coming very close to us. Instead of helping, they wound down their windows to snap pictures with their mobile phones. I felt so angry," he added.

Another motorcyclist was also injured in the incident. When contacted by TNP, the man, who declined to be named, said the couple had fallen into his lane, making him swerve to avoid them.

"I lost control of my bike after that, and I skidded quite a distance. But I didn't hit the couple or see what happened to them after they fell," he said.

The police said they were alerted at about 9.55pm and established that an accident involving two motorcycles had occurred. Investigations are ongoing.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force sent two ambulances, which took the injured couple and the other rider to Ng Teng Fong Hospital.

Madam Indahsari hopes that witnesses will come forward so she can find out what exactly happened to her husband.

Mr Aniq is helping her by taking to his Facebook page to appeal for witnesses. As of last evening, it had garnered more than 650 shares. "I am a rider and it could have happened to me, so I just want to help," he said.

Madam Indahsari expressed her gratitude to Mr Aniq and his wife after getting in touch with them through Facebook.

"I am still shaken and can't quite remember what happened. I just hope the people responsible will own up," she said.

She said that doctors had to open up her husband's skull to ease swelling in his brain, and he was still in the Intensive Care Unit yesterday.

"The doctors have told me that even if he wakes up, he might never be the same again," she added.

Cameras useful but not foolproof

During a collision, motorcyclists are always at a disadvantage, admitted Mr Ong Kim Hua, president of the Motorcycle Safety and Sports Club.

"They are usually the ones that suffer more serious injuries. It is a risk that comes with riding a motorcycle," he added.

However, Mr Ong pointed out that there are ways for motorcyclists to protect themselves, such as using cameras mounted on their motorcycles or helmets to record what had happened. However, there is a limitation.

"Cameras on bikes are more complicated than the ones in cars. When the rider falls off the bike, the camera follows suit and it pretty much becomes useless after that," he said.

Singapore Safety Driving Centre operations manager Gerard Pereira also supported the use of front and rear cameras on motorcycles but discouraged those mounted on helmets.

"These cameras are not only expensive because the market for them is so small, but they are also quite troublesome. Riders have to keep charging batteries and switch them on and off," he said.

"Especially in hit-and-run cases, the rider is always hit from the back or even the sides. By the time the other vehicle drives away, the rider might have fallen off the bike."

Mr Ong and Mr Pereira said hit-and-run cases are tricky because they often depend on the other motorists' conscience to do the right thing.

Making up 48 per cent of all road traffic deaths last year, motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable, said the experts.

"Cameras on motorcycles are useful only to a certain extent. The most important thing is for all road users to abide by traffic rules," said Mr Ong.

This article was first published on April 20, 2016.
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