Oral Reply to Parliamentary Questions on \rRoad Safety Measures, Enforcement Efforts and Adequacy of Penalties to Deter Dangerous Driving

Questions:

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry will consider requiring all drivers, both local and foreign, to attend periodic refresher courses; (b) whether the Ministry will consider enhancing preventive measures, such as but not limited to, the installation of speed limiters on all motor vehicles including passenger cars; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider imposing stricter non-financial criteria for ownership of vehicles and vehicle rentals.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the recent spate of major road traffic fatal accidents (a) what are the typical causes of such accidents; (b) what mitigation plans will the Ministry implement; and (c) whether there is a need to raise the relevant penalties under the Road Traffic Act 1961.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) over the past five years, how many fatal accidents have occurred due to reckless driving and speeding; (b) whether there is a need to review the existing penalties under the Road Traffic Act 1961; (c) whether the Ministry and LTA will consider stricter enforcement measures or legislative changes to ensure greater accountability and discourage dangerous driving; and (d) whether there are plans to intensify campaigns or programmes in educating drivers on speeding and reckless driving and increase road safety awareness.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what measures are being taken to improve road safety education for both new and experienced drivers.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs how is the Singapore Police Force ensuring the enforcement of traffic laws, particularly against reckless driving.

Mr Derrick Goh: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Government will consider imposing stiffer penalties on risky driving conduct; and (b) whether a major media campaign can be conducted to increase public awareness of responsible driving habits along with the new measures being put in place to curtail fatal road accidents.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what support systems are in place for families of road accident victims, especially when the victim is a minor.

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in light of the significant increase of traffic accidents resulting in fatalities in 2023 and the recent road accident in Tampines that claimed lives, what measures can be taken to improve road safety for users.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the recent fatal traffic accidents (a) how will enforcement of road safety for both motorists and pedestrians be further enhanced; (b) whether the reporting of drivers’ infringement of traffic rules by the public can be made easier; and (c) whether smart enforcement cameras can be installed at all major traffic junctions and zebra crossings.

Answer:

Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development:

1. Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to address Questions No. 2 to 10 in today's Order Paper through a combined reply?

2. Sir, the recent Tampines accident which took two lives shocked and angered many Singaporeans. I am sure I speak for all of us in saying we were all deeply saddened as well. Members have asked many questions, centred on:

(a) Our road safety situation;

(b) Adequacy of penalties to deter dangerous driving;

(c) Enforcement efforts; and

(d) Measures to improve road safety.

Road Safety Situation

3. First, Members asked for data on fatal accidents and their causes.

4. In the last five years, the number of accidents resulting in injuries or fatalities has fallen by about 10%, from 7,822 in 2019 to 7,075 in 2023. By this measure, our roads have become safer.

5. However, if we look at the number of accidents resulting in fatalities, this has increased by about 12%, from 117 in 2019 to 131 in 2023. There were 71 fatal accidents in the first half of 2023, and 60 in the second half of the year.

6. The top causes of the fatal accidents between 2019 and 2023 were: (1) failure to keep a proper lookout; and (2) failure to have proper control of one’s vehicle. An average of three fatal accidents per year, or about 2.4% of fatal accidents annually, were investigated under the offence of reckless or dangerous driving causing death. An average of 29 fatal accidents per year, or 27% of fatal accidents annually, were speeding-related. Members may wish to refer to the Annual Road Traffic Situation Report on the Police’s website, for more details on the situation in 2023.

Adequacy of Penalties

7. Second, Members asked whether we intend to review and increase the penalties under the Road Traffic Act, or RTA.

8. MHA had raised the penalties significantly in 2019. Under the RTA, for an offence of dangerous driving causing death, a first-time offender is liable for imprisonment of two to eight years. A repeat offender will be liable for up to 15 years. In addition, an offender could face a minimum 10 years of disqualification from driving, which begins only from the time that the offender is released from prison. Thus, a first offender in a serious case could be jailed for a maximum of 8 years and not drive for 18 years.

9. What the laws provide today are already quite stiff. We do regularly review different aspects of the framework. In this context, we have been studying the adequacy of composition amounts and the demerit points framework.

Enforcement

10. Third, Members asked about our enforcement efforts.

11. Most people know about the regular enforcements that we have. TP has in the last 6 weeks, also intensified ad-hoc enforcements, which has detected close to 1,400 violations and arrested 29 motorists for traffic-related and other offences.

12. In addition, since last month, TP has progressively activated the speed enforcement function in red-light cameras across the island, especially at locations that are more accident-prone or violation-prone. More than 800 speeding violations have been detected by these cameras thus far.

13. Whilst enforcement cameras are useful for deterrence, it is not feasible to install them at all traffic junctions and zebra crossings, given terrain limitations and other constraints.

14. Ms Tin Pei Ling asked whether the reporting of traffic violations by the public can be made easier. The public may conveniently report traffic violations online via the Police’s E-Services or Police@SG app, with supporting evidence such as video footage. TP has been taking enforcement action based on such evidence.

Measures to Improve Road Safety

15. Fourth, Members asked about our plans to improve road safety, and raised several suggestions.

16. To incentivise safe driving behaviour, eligible motorists may attend the Safe Driving Course, and have four demerit points expunged from their record after completing the course. The course aims to re-educate and correct the poor driving behaviours of motorists who have accumulated a significant number of demerit points.

17. TP has also been intensifying its education and engagement efforts. It works with various partners and stakeholders, including the Singapore Road Safety Council, SBS Transit and Grab, to organise events and campaigns to promote road safety. TP will be publishing a series of road safety videos in the second half of 2024. We welcome more partners and stakeholders to join our road safety initiatives, to develop a culture of responsible road usage.

18. Members asked how road infrastructure can be modified or improved to enhance safety. TP works closely with the Land Transport Authority on this. The Ministry of Transport will provide details in its reply later.

19. Ms Pereira asked whether we would require all drivers to attend periodic refresher courses. The refresher course is optional today. It caters to drivers who have not driven for several years. We do not think it is useful to mandate the refresher course for all motorists. Only a minority of motorists are involved in accidents. The very large majority of motorists stay offence-free for many years, if not the entire period of their driving history.  Most accidents happen because of poor road behaviour, rather than inexperience.

20. Ms Pereira asked if we should mandate speed limiters on all vehicles. We have to balance the benefits with the costs. For now, we assess that it would suffice to mandate installation of speed limiters for lorries. This is ongoing and will be completed by June 2027.

21. Mr Patrick Tay asked about support for families of accident victims. The Police refer families who require support to Social Service Offices or Family Service Centres, depending on their circumstances and needs. Those requiring mental health support are referred to mental health helplines and counselling services, which are run by trained professionals or the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

22. The Government is strongly committed to doing all we can to keep our roads safe. However, I would like to re-emphasise that we cannot succeed alone. Road safety is necessarily a shared responsibility, and we urge all road users to play their part.