Rider who squeezed between two heavy vehicles killed after being run over by trailer

A coroner said that motorcyclists should both keep a safe distance from and not put themselves in the blind spots of heavy vehicles.

On Wednesday (Apr 26), State Coroner Marvin Bay said the 42-year-old rider's death particularly shows why motorcyclists who travel on the spaces between lanes are inviting danger, especially when these lanes have heavy vehicles.

The coroner was giving his findings at an inquest into the death of marine trades worker Loh Fook Siong, who lost control of his motorcycle and was subsequently run over by a trailer.

Stomp reported on the incident on Nov 25 after a video showing the motorcyclist's final moments went viral after being shared on Roads.sg.

The Masai (Johor) resident was on his way home after work on Nov 24 last year (2016) when he went ahead of a tipper truck before entering the gap between the trailer, on his left, and a tanker, to his right.

Lim Lam Peng, a tipper truck driver who was directly behind his colleague's trailer at the extreme left lane, witnessed the entire incident play out right in front of him.

The Straits Times reports that he saw Loh's motorcycle brake lights light up after going into the gap.

However, just seconds later, the motorbike's handle bar hit the tanker and caused Loh's motorcycle to wobble and fall in front of the rear right tyres of the trailer.

Trailer driver Chew Ah Chye was moving off after stopping at the West Coast Highway junction when the lights turned red. 

He moved off only after checking his mirrors to make sure there were no oncoming motorcycles from the rear. 

However, he heard a loud sound from his trailer's rear six seconds later and felt it going over a hump. 

He immediately stopped, only to find an injured Loh lying beside his motorcycle. 

The rider was subsequently pronounced dead at 6.31pm. 

Lim said that the gap between the trailer and the tanker was "too small" for Loh to pass through safely.

Loh had "unwisely" tried to ride between the two heavy vehicles at a point when both were moving off when the traffic lights turned green, said coroner Bay. 

The motorcyclist's death is a "truly unfortunate traffic misadventure", he added.