Impact of multiple mounted mobile devices or digital screens on driving performance

Question:

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry has conducted or commissioned any studies on the impact of multiple mounted mobile devices or digital screens within a driver’s field of view on re action time and driving performance; and (b) whether there are plans to review current regulations to address excessive screen use in moving vehicles.


Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Traffic Police have not commissioned studies on the impact of multiple mounted mobile devices or digital screens on reaction time and driving performance.

2. It is the driver’s responsibility to stay alert on the roads at all times and drive safely. The key issue is not the installation or mounting of devices, but in the wrongful use of such devices while driving. Disallowing the mounting of devices could be counterproductive, as drivers may instead hold their devices in their hands while driving, which poses a graver risk and is precisely the behaviour that the law prohibits.

3. Singapore already has comprehensive rules governing the wrongful use of mobile devices while driving. Under section 65B (1) of the Road Traffic Act, a driver commits an offence if he or she holds a mobile communication device and uses any of its communica tive or other functions while the vehicle is in motion. No proof of harm is required. A first-time offender is liable to a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment of up to six months, or both. A repeat offender faces a fine of up to $2,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.

4. The offence also carries 12 demerit points with a composition fine of $400 for light vehicles and $500 for heavy vehicles. Offences committed in School Zones, Silver Zones, or Friendly Zones Streets incur two additional demerit points and an additional $1 00 fine.

5. Rule 126 of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules makes it an offence to install any visual display unit in a manner that poses a safety hazard or causes distraction.

6. Taken together, the current rules are adequate in targeting the wrongful and distracting use of mobile devices while driving. There are no plans to review regulations relating to the use of mounted screens in moving vehicles.