Traffic slowed to a crawl along a section of the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) on the morning of Jun 18, after an accident involving multiple vehicles.
As Razali Raihayu approached the accident site on his bike, he observed a fellow motorcyclist lying injured by the road shoulder.
The fallen motorcyclist, clad in a Republic of Singapore Air Force uniform, was dazed and appeared to be bleeding from his mouth. Razali promptly stopped his bike further up the road shoulder, and hurried to join several other road users who had come forward to help.
In footage captured by Razali’s helmet camera that he subsequently shared in a Facebook community group called Southern Vengers, Razali is seen by the motorcyclist’s side, helping to wipe blood from his face.
Razali told The Pride: “When I arrived, a Malaysian van driver was helping to manage the situation and ensure that nobody moved the victim. After he explained to me what had happened, I asked a few others to help form a safety barrier and guide traffic away from the victim before going to his aid.”
Despite being strangers, Razali, who is also Malaysian, noted that everyone came together to help.
“Regardless of nationality and race, everyone worked together. While I checked on the victim, others helped to take photos of the scene and pick up the victim’s belongings.”
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The victim, whom Razali identified as Mr Adam, complained of pain in both arms. Razali, a certified first-aider, guessed that the victim could have broken his arms, and worried that he would choke on his own blood.
“I used my hanky and tissue paper to wipe the blood from his mouth, and someone passed me a brand new box of wet tissue after I ran out.”
Fortunately, an ambulance soon arrived and Mr Adam was conveyed to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, conscious.
And although thankful that road users stepped up to help, Razali observed that while well-meaning, some offered incorrect advice that could have caused the victim more harm than good. He said: “Some people who arrived to the scene later barked instructions to me that were totally wrong, such as removing the victim’s helmet.”
So, hoping to raise awareness, Razali took the opportunity to remind everyone of a few dos and don’ts in his Facebook post, such as not removing the helmet of a victim or offering him water.
He stated that if the situation allows, the victim should not be moved. Instead, road users can try to form a protective barrier around the victim with their vehicles.
Razali also revealed that he was almost hit by a bus while trying to help the victim, as the bus driver drove very fast and close to the accident scene.
“Reminder to all drivers, please drive slowly when passing an accident scene and give ample space to us,” he said in his post.
As a seasoned motorcyclist who often rides from his home in Johor Baru to his workplace in Geylang, Razali shared that he has seen and responded to his fair share of accidents involving bikers. And in his experience, it’s not that people are unhelpful, but some who wish to help the victims may freeze as they are not sure what to do.
Hence, he encourages more people to pick up first aid, whether through Singapore’s SGSecure initiative or the SCDF’s Community Emergency Preparedness Programme, and to register as a volunteer on the myResponder app.
“There are so many ways available to us so that we can help one another. There’s really no reason for anyone to say that they don’t know.”