Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Jaywalking and Measures to deter Jaywalking, by Ms Sun Xueling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development

Question

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past year, how many people have been penalised for jaywalking; (b) how does the Ministry monitor areas where jaywalking is prevalent; (c) how many fatal traffic accidents were caused by jaywalking in the past three years; (d) whether the Ministry plans to implement additional measures to reduce the danger of fatal traffic accidents to the elderly who jaywalk; and (e) whether there is a need to review the current penalties to deter jaywalking.

Answer:

1. In 2019, Traffic Police (TP) detected about 2,500 jaywalking violations.

2. From 2017 to 2019, there were 59 fatal traffic accidents involving jaywalkers. Elderly jaywalkers were involved in about 68% of them.

3. In recent years, TP has stepped up its engagement of elderly pedestrians. In 2019, TP organised the Road Safety Carnival themed “Be Seen, Be Safe” for more than 1,000 senior citizens, to raise awareness on the importance of using designated pedestrian crossings and how to cross roads safely. This year, TP will be working with the Lion Befrienders Service Association and NTUC Health Co-operative Limited to train staff and volunteers to become Road Safety Champions to engage senior citizens on road safety.

4. To further improve safety for elderly pedestrians, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has implemented Silver Zones at locations with a high proportion of senior citizens, and where there have been accidents involving seniors. Silver Zones have senior-friendly road safety features, such as rest points for pedestrians along road dividers and also signs to alert motorists of the presence of elderly pedestrians. LTA plans to increase the number of Silver Zones from 17 in 2019 to 50 by 2023.

5. TP regularly conducts enforcement operations at accident-prone locations and jaywalking hotspots. Under the Road Traffic Act, it is an offence for pedestrians to fail to cross at a pedestrian crossing. The composition sum for this offence was raised from $20 to $50 on 1 Apr 2019. We will monitor the situation and consider further measures if necessary.