Debated in Parliament on 8 Apr 2013.
Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs for each year from 2008 to 2012, what is the number of accidents at pedestrian crossings involving vehicles and what is the number of fatalities and injuries involving pedestrians and cyclists hit by vehicles at these crossings.
Madam, over the past five years, there were on average 82 accidents a year which involved pedestrians or cyclists and vehicles at pedestrian crossings. This accounts for 1% of total accidents island-wide each year.
On average, three pedestrians and one cyclist lost their lives while 55 pedestrians and 21 cyclists were injured in such accidents each year. On the whole, the number of pedestrian and cyclist casualties at pedestrian crossings has declined by 63% since 2008, from 144 to 54 in 2012. There is a similar trend
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in the number of accidents at pedestrian crossings as well.
The Traffic Police will continue its education, engagement and enforcement efforts to ensure road users abide by traffic rules. LTA also reviews infrastructural measures regularly to make pedestrian crossings safer. At the same time, we also need pedestrians and cyclists to be alert, and practise good habits when using pedestrian crossings.
Mdm Speaker, there is evidence that motorists are becoming more impatient on roads. Cars would butt into the pedestrian crossings at turnings and drive across even when pedestrians are using the crossing. I have three supplementary questions. I would like to ask the Second Minister if he would consider changing traffic rules so that all vehicles come to a stop behind the stop line at the junction with the traffic light red for vehicles, whenever it is green for pedestrians, and that motorists not be allowed to turn around the bend until the red man at the pedestrian crossing appears. This may lose a few seconds for the motorists, but may save the lives of pedestrians and cyclists using the crossings.
Second, I would like to ask the Second Minister if he could mount a road safety campaign dedicated to pedestrian and cyclist safety, and educating motorists to look out for them at crossings. And finally, would the Second Minister consider imposing stricter penalties on motorists who hit and kill pedestrians at crossings?
Madam, I thank the Member for her suggestions and I think we all share her concerns for the safety and well-being of all road users. On the traffic signals, this is a matter under the LTA and there is a Committee chaired under MOT's leadership on pedestrian and cyclist safety. This is something they are looking at. We will certainly convey the Member's suggestions to them.
Secondly, on road safety campaign, we have an on-going effort in terms of ensuring road safety awareness for all road users – motorists through the Basic Theory and other forms of training for their driving, as well as for pedestrians, whether it is children through the Road Safety Park and other road safety efforts, or the elderly through the Road Safety Ambassadors programme. We are continuing this effort – the Traffic Police, in particular – in order to not just work on enforcement, but also on engagement and education. These are important pillars, as the Member has highlighted. We will continue in this regard.
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I want to assure the House and Members that education and engagement will continue to be important parts of the effort to promote road safety in Singapore. On enhanced penalties, the numbers as they suggest do not indicate an increasing trend. The trends, if any, have been falling. We have already introduced a range of measures recently to promote greater road safety but we will closely monitor this and are prepared to take action, if necessary.
Order. End of Question time.
[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos 15, 17, 22-23, 25-26, 30, 33-35 and 38-41 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix. Question Nos 13-14, 16, 18-21, 24, 27-29, 31-32, 36-37 and 42 have been postponed to the next available sitting of Parliament.]
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