Jail for driver who overtook from lorry’s left, colliding with motorcycle in fatal accident

He was taken to hospital unconscious with a severe traumatic brain injury and fractured ribs. He was pronounced dead the next day, from head and chest injuries.

CHUA’S DRIVING

Based on in-car camera footage, Chua’s car had reached a recorded speed of 106.3kmh prior to the collision.

The limit along that road was 80kmh.

On top of this, an accident reconstruction report estimated that Chua’s car was travelling at between 99kmh and 110kmh prior to the collision.

Investigations revealed that when Chua overtook the lorry on its left, the lorry had not signalled any intention to turn right, and traffic was neither slow-moving nor congested.

He had thereby contravened Rule 61 of the Highway Code by overtaking the lorry on its left.

Chua later told the police that he had not noticed the motorcycle due to the glare of the sun on the right side of his car.

The prosecution sought 21 to 23 months’ jail for Chua, along with eight years’ disqualification from driving all classes of vehicles.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Daniel Foo said that fatal road traffic accidents, particularly speeding-related ones, have increased in prevalence over the past few years.

There were 104 cases of fatal traffic accidents in 2022, 131 in 2023, and 139 in 2024.

In terms of speeding-related fatal traffic accidents, there were 18 in 2022, about 30 in 2023 and 46 in 2024.

Mr Foo said Chua sped and changed lanes without keeping a proper lookout on a flyover of a major expressway during morning peak hour traffic.

He was also speeding prior to and during the collision, and overtook the lorry on its left.

“This is particularly egregious considering that the accused, on his own admission, was facing issues with sun glare at the material time,” said Mr Foo.

He added that Chua “did not have a good reason to overtake the lorry at all” and that the video footage showed that his overtaking was “part of his wider pattern of weaving in and out of the various lanes on the highway”.

The penalties for driving without due care and attention, causing death are a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both, along with an eight-year driving ban.