Launch of the Singapore Road Safety Month – Speech by Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Home Affairs

Chairman of the Singapore Road Safety Council, Mr Patrick Kho,

Commander of Traffic Police, Mr Daniel Tan,

Senior Group Director, Traffic & Road Operations, Land Transport Authority, Mr Alvin Chia,

Distinguished Guests and Partners,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. Good morning. It is my pleasure to join everyone here today at Our Tampines Hub for the Community Road Safety Day, which marks the start of the Singapore Road Safety Month 2026.

2. Over the years, Singapore Road Safety Month has served as an important platform to rally the community around our shared commitment to safer roads, raising awareness, educating road users, and strengthening partnerships to keep everyone who uses them safe.

Our Roads, Our Responsibility

3. Earlier this year, we conducted a dipstick poll with 1,000 Singapore residents to better understand how they feel about road safety. The findings were telling. Only 61% of respondents said they find Singapore’s roads safe, which leaves significant room for improvement.

4. The Traffic Police and the MHA have made significant strides in recent years, through stronger enforcement, stiffer penalties and smarter use of technology. Speeding violations detected have more than doubled, from 116,440 cases in 2023 to 253,550 cases in 2025. We introduced enhanced penalties for speeding and road traffic offences within Friendly Streets on 1 January 2026, and operationalised new Traffic Violation Enforcement Cameras (TVECs) island-wide from 1 March 2026 to detect offences such as crossing double white lines and making illegal U-turns. We are also strengthening accountability for foreign-registered vehicles. From 2 November this year, those with outstanding fines for traffic, parking, or vehicular emissions offences committed in Singapore will not be able to apply for or renew their Vehicle Entry Permit.

5. The general non-compliance to traffic rules, however, points to a cultural shift that is needed for safer road use. At Dunearn Road alone, the TVEC caught 3,122 instances of vehicles crossing double white lines in March 2026, rising to 4,169 instances in April. We will continue to strengthen enforcement through upcoming changes to the Driver Improvement Points System and lowering of alcohol limits for drink driving. But enforcement alone cannot change a culture. It requires all of us to do our part.

6. And Singaporeans understand this too. 76% of poll respondents cited impatience as the top reason road users do not comply with traffic rules. Safer roads ultimately depend on the choices each of us make every day. Every time we slow down, give way, or wait for the green man, we protect not just ourselves, but our elderly neighbours, our children, and our fellow road users. This is the “We-First” spirit, and being safer on our roads is one of the most tangible ways we can live it out every day.

7. We must also be honest about the trade-offs involved in making our roads safer. Lower speeds may mean slightly longer travel times. Stronger enforcement means higher penalties for those who flout the rules. But these are trade-offs worth making. We should be willing to prioritise safety for all over speed or convenience for the individual because the cost of not doing so is measured in lives.

Road Safety Begins with Us

8. This year, we are launching the Singapore Road Safety Month 2026 with the tagline: Road Safety Begins with Us.

9. Road safety does not begin at the traffic junction. It begins at the moment we step out of our homes, in terms of our attitudes, our choices, and how we look out for one another. It begins with the driver who resists the urge to rush through the amber light, the pedestrian who puts away his phone before crossing the road, and the parent who models safe road behaviour for her child. Road Safety Begins with Us is our call to everyone to take personal responsibility, to exercise care for one another, and to make road safety a part of how we live every day.

Road Safety in the Heart of Our Community

10. To bring this vision to life, I am pleased to announce a new initiative by the Singapore Police Force that embeds road safety deeper into our heartlands.

11. Through our 32 Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPCs), we are bringing road safety programmes directly into the community. NPC officers will visit preschools to read road safety storybooks and take children on morning neighbourhood road safety walks. For our seniors, officers will organise neighbourhood walks that end with a coffee session, helping to identify safer routes to the places they frequent most and highlighting areas to look out for.

12. We will also continue our partnership with the People’s Association to develop road safety programmes for different community groups. Road safety outreach should not be a one-off event. It should be woven into the rhythm of community life.

Singapore Road Safety Month 2026

13. I hope all of you will make the most of today. Local artistes will be performing specially adapted songs and skits in our local languages, making road safety messages fun and relatable, especially for our seniors. Traffic Police and partners from LTA, SBST, SCDF, and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital will also be on hand, covering everything from pedestrian safety to injury prevention. Visit the booths, ask questions, and bring home what you learn.

14. Beyond today, the Traffic Police, the Singapore Road Safety Council, and the Migrant Workers’ Centre are co-organising a Road Safety Carnival for migrant workers for the first time this June, at the Migrant Workers’ Centre Recreation Club at Soon Lee Road. Migrant workers contribute enormously to building Singapore, and we want them to work and live safely here, and return home safe and well to their loved ones.

Thank You to All Our Partners

15. I am heartened by the breadth of partners who have come together under the leadership of the Traffic Police and the Singapore Road Safety Council, from government agencies like LTA, SCDF, MOE, and the People’s Association, to the Automobile Association of Singapore, driving centres, healthcare partners, and community groups. This collective effort is what gives our road safety work its reach and its impact.

16. The progress we have seen on speed limiter installations is a good example of what partnership and technology can achieve when companies across diverse industries come on board. Under the expanded speed limiter regime, more than 15,000 lorries now have speed limiters installed as of 1 May 2026. Speeding violations among these lorries fell by 91%, from 238 instances in the first three months of 2025 to just 22 in the same period of 2026, even as total speeding violations across all vehicle types increased by 16%. This shows that when we combine the right technology with the right regulations and the right partnerships, we can make a real and measurable difference.

17. Road safety is a shared endeavour. It is precisely because we work together, pooling our resources, our expertise, and our networks that we are able to protect more lives. Together, we can keep our roads safe. Together, we can protect our families and our community. Because road safety truly begins with each of us.

18. Thank you everyone.