Slamming the brakes when a speed camera or traffic cop is spotted may not spare you a ticket anymore.
New speed cameras that track how quickly motorists are going over a distance will be rolled out in the first quarter next year, starting with Tanah Merah Coast Road – a stretch frequently used by heavy vehicles and cyclists.
This new two-point system, which records the time a vehicle takes to travel between two points to compute its average speed within the enforcement zone, was announced by the Traffic Police (TP) on Wednesday (Feb 15), as it released annual statistics. The move comes despite an improved speeding situation last year. Accidents involving speeding fell by 10.4 per cent to 1,081, while the number of these killing someone fell from 48 to 40.
Meanwhile, TP noted that the safety of elderly pedestrians on the roads has become a “key concern”. Accidents involving pedestrians older than 60 rose by 19.6 per cent to 268. The number of deaths on the roads among this group also jumped 21.7 per cent to 28. The TP said 16 of these deaths resulted from jaywalking while the rest had other causes, such as motorists failing to keep a proper lookout.
The TP said it has been working with 111 senior activity centres in an effort to raise awareness of road safety among the elderly using a "road master test kit" which helps the elderly assess their eyesight, hearing, and reaction time.
It has also worked with the Land Transport Authority to put up more road signs for motorists to keep a look out for elderly in neighbourhoods with a higher population of old people. New signs have recently been installed at Tiong Bahru Road, for instance.
Overall, 2016 recorded 140 road fatalities — bringing the fatality rate down to 2.51 in 100,000 persons, the lowest fatality rate since recording started in 1981. But road accidents resulting in injuries went up 2.7 per cent to 8,277 — up from 8,058 in 2015.
Drink-driving related accidents fell by 2.9 per cent to 138, while those arrested for drink-driving also dropped by 7.9 per cent — from 2,303 in 2015 to 2,121 last year.
Good information!
Anyway always get the good lawyer to have no problems with drunk drivers.