More safety measures for peak-hour operations at Woodlands Checkpoint following accident

More safety protocols have been put in place for the setting up of peak-hour operations at Woodlands Checkpoint, following an accident that occurred on May 24.

- Samuel Devaraj and Stacey Ngiam

The enhancements include the use of cones, reflector discs and blinker lights to more clearly indicate to motorists the lane where traffic flow has been reversed to accommodate the large number of arriving vehicles.

At about 5.30am on May 24, a Singapore-registered car heading towards Malaysia along the Causeway collided head-on with a Malaysia-registered bus approaching Singapore.

The driver of the car and his three passengers were taken conscious to the hospital.

In a statement after the accident, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that the accident happened before barriers were put in place to divert departing car traffic away from a lane that had the flow of traffic reversed to accommodate heavy vehicles arriving from Malaysia.

The changing of the flow of traffic at the departure lane is part of ICA's contra-flow operations, which are initiated during peak periods to manage heavy traffic at the land border crossings.