Campaign on Good Driving Habits

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry will launch a public education campaign on good driving habits; (b) whether tailgating or road hogging is an offence; and (c) over the past three years, how many drivers were booked for tailgating or road hogging.

Mdm Speaker, educating the public on good driving habits is one of the key prongs in the Traffic Police's road safety strategy. Outreach is done through many platforms, including road shows and talks, as well as the mass media. Traffic Police's annual Road Courtesy Campaign has always underscored the importance of being considerate on the roads. Motorists who display acts of road courtesy are identified and commended for their efforts. At the same time, Traffic Police will continue to enforce the traffic rules against errant drivers.

"Tailgating" is the common term used to describe the situation where one vehicle is following too closely behind another. It is not a specific offence in itself under our road traffic laws. However, tailgating a vehicle, especially one travelling at high speed, may result in an accident. The driver may then be liable for careless or inconsiderate driving, depending on the circumstances of each case. As tailgating itself is not a specific offence, Traffic Police do not maintain a record of instances of tailgating detected in Singapore.

"Road hogging", which refers to the obstruction of traffic moving at faster speeds, is a traffic offence under our road traffic rules and carries four demerit points, in addition to a monetary penalty. Motorists should drive as close to the

Page: 37

left-hand side of the roadway as possible, so as not to obstruct other vehicles using the other lanes. Over the last three years, an average of 1,750 summonses were issued each year for road hogging.

On a broader level, Traffic Police are developing a comprehensive plan to improve road safety and address incorrect road behaviours holistically. The Ministry will provide more details of this plan at the upcoming Committee of Supply debate.

Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. Two supplementary questions, please. We are all very saddened by the accident in Tampines where two boys were killed, and recently, I had a resident who lost her life in an accident along Lentor Avenue. I read in a report that there will be more Traffic Police officers carrying out the enforcement action. I would like to ask: do we have sufficient Traffic Police officers carrying out enforcement? Apparently, a lot of people say they do not see Traffic Police officers.

My second question: are we going to use more technologies to detect those who violate traffic rules? I have been asking for the installation of traffic speed cameras along Yishun Avenue 1 because there is feedback of speeding and beating the red lights. Until now, I have not received a reply.

Mdm Speaker, we thank the Member for her supplementary questions. We extend our condolences to all the victims, and their families, of traffic accidents, especially those who suffered fatalities, including the recent accident in Tampines. We recognise that to have better road safety is a sum of education, enforcement and better road infrastructure. We have announced, as the Member said, that we will be deploying more Traffic Police officers on the roads; we will step up enforcement to make sure that the message goes through that errant behaviour that jeopardises the safety of all other road users will not be tolerated. We will indeed do more. The reason for doing more is we believe that it is not sufficient right now. We will keep up the pace. The Traffic summonses tend to indicate that there are more road safety problems presented by the motorists.

Secondly, yes, we will use more technology. The recent announcement by the Second Minister for Home Affairs has indicated that we will be rolling out more traffic cameras and we will deploy them judiciously and as quickly as possible in all road areas which merit the use of these cameras, including along

Page: 38

Yishun Avenue 1 if there is merit.