Friend had an accident. Fortunately no major injuries.

[deeaimond]

I was just reflecting on the bike laws and attitudes of law enforcement towards cyclists in my country,. compared to the stories I hear from TE and the US.

and then...

My friend just told me another friend got hit by a car and his bike was totalled. Rim bent, attached to fork, individually, back rim bent, front shifter damaged, pedal damaged, everything was partially damaged, he was thrown a couple of feet. Fortunately my friend sounds ok, no head injury. The guy actually turned, saw him going straight, and continued driving as if expecting my friend to stop. The other friend (thw one who called me about it) was behind him and saw everything and they had an eyewitness who called the police.

The driver was detained and taken away by the police.

The policemen took his statements and told him to stop talking so much and just answer only their questions.

The policeman had forms with bicycles printed on them where they could mark down the damage

the driver's wife came and drove away the car.

my friend is pissed. coz he has a ride next month, a marathon the month after and an ironman race 2 months after that...

and now he is bikeless

and had a hunk out of his leg (his descriptions weren't very good I'll have to see him tmw to figure out what they're talking about)

but i'm quite impressed they detained the driver on the spot, and had those sheets of paper on hand to mark damage. I hope something comes out of this. (at least a new bike for my friend) I don't hope the driver gets jailed though.. he had the decency to stay there and get taken away. he could have just driven off. there were no cars around.

the potential of serious injury while cycling hits closer to home each time something like that happens.

[Ange]

Wow! Thank goodness your friend is (mostly) ok. Too bad about his bike, but what luck for his health! That's a great police response, too. Why was the motorist detained - is that common in Singapore, or were there extenuating circumstances like a suspected DUI?

Thanks for sharing the story. I hope your friend recovers well and that he's able to replace his bike quickly.