Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on the Rules of Engagement when the Traffic Police Spots a Lorry Travelling at a Speed Higher than 60km/h, by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Question:

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the rules of engagement when the Traffic Police spots a lorry travelling at a speed higher than 60km/h; (b) how many of such speeding cases have been detected over the past five years; and (c) of these cases, how many are stopped by Traffic Police officers and how many are caught through submissions of dashcam footages.

Answer :

1.   Lorries ferrying workers in the rear deck, as well as those with a maximum laden weight greater than 3,500kg, have a vehicle speed limit of 60km/h; otherwise the speed limit is 70km/h.

2.   When Traffic Police (TP) officers spot any vehicle, including lorries, travelling in excess of either its vehicle or the road speed limit, they will direct the driver to stop at the side of the road, explain that they have committed a speeding offence, and take enforcement action against the driver.

3.   From 2016 to 2020, TP detected a total of 19,758 speeding violations involving Singapore-registered lorries. This includes lorries which were caught travelling at a speed higher than either its vehicle or the road speed limit.

4.   Of these speeding violations involving Singapore-registered lorries, 82% were detected by TP patrol officers and 18% were caught by fixed speed enforcement cameras.

5.   TP is not able to take enforcement action against drivers for speeding solely based on the submission of dashcam footages from other vehicles, as it is not possible to verify the actual speed of the alleged speeding vehicle through such footage. It is necessary to determine the actual speed of the vehicle in order to mete out composition fines and demerit points.