PUBLISHED ONSeptember 07, 2026 11:00 PMBYSean Ler"That could've been the last day I saw my daughter."
These were the exact words of 42-year-old Tower Transit bus captain Lee Zhen Yang, after dashcam footage of a trailer driver running a red light in Jurong and narrowing missing his bus made its rounds on social media.
Lee, whose daughter turns three at the end of the year, recounted the incident to AsiaOne on Monday (Sept 7).
He said when the the light turned green in his favour, he had disengaged the hand brake and began moving slowly when the "trailer came into my view".
He said that the training he had received taught him to always take multiple glances at all blind spots and the direction of travel.
"So, I was constantly checking while moving forward slowly," Lee said.
Reflecting on the incident, he said that the split second he took to check ended up giving him enough time to apply brakes.
"It probably saved my life," Lee said, shaken by the thought that he would have been absent for his daughter's third birthday in December.
In response to AsiaOne's queries, Tower Transit emphasised that the safety of its commuters and bus captains is its foremost priority.
"Defensive driving habits like Lee's, even when he has the right of way, are part of what we train and reinforce across our fleet," a spokesperson said.
A trailer driver was caught on dashcam footage running a red light on Corporation Road at about 12pm on Sept 4.
The action nearly resulted in an accident with an oncoming Tower Transit double-decker bus and a black saloon car.
No injuries were reported and a collision was avoided, as the trailer driver swerved in time and both the bus and car drivers were able to stop before impact.
The police told AsiaOne on Monday afternoon that they are aware of the incident and are looking into the matter.
The offence of failing to conform to traffic light signals carries a fine of $500 for heavy vehicle drivers and 12 demerit points.
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