BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Brunei National Road Safety Council (BNRSC) is working together with the police to further improve the safety of pedestrians following an accident that claimed the life of a 40-year-old cyclist in Tutong on Friday.

BNRSC member and Director of Land Transport Department (LTD) Dr Supry Hj Awg Ladi said the council will look into a detailed report from the police and will visit the site to further investigate the incident as a standard practice.

He said the investigation will include an analysis of the possible causes of the incident, after which the council will decide on how to proceed with the matter.

“Actions to improve the situation will not only be taken into that (particular) area because the issue involves vulnerable road users, so we need to know how it happened in the first place,” he said. “We normally discuss this with the police, try to review the pre-accident event [like] how it happened, its causes and we will also look into the (condition of the) vehicle, the driver and the cyclist,” he added.

According to the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), the 40-year-old local cyclist was reported to have been hit by a 21-year-old local driver at Kg Panchong, Jalan Rambai last late Friday afternoon.

While the driver was unscathed, the local cyclist was killed on the spot.

To avoid road accidents, Dr Hj Supry expressed hopes that members of the public would spend their time reading the newly launched guidebook – the “Safe and Smart Driving in Brunei Darussalam” – which is available for $5 at the LTD headquarters in Gadong.

“The book includes safety precautions and ways on how to properly ride a bicycle and also an explanation of protective gears,” he said. “For now, as the case is still under investigation, we have yet to picturise the incident. We do not yet know its causes but we are working together with the police on this,” he added.

The Brunei Times