Oral Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Amy Khor to Parliamentary Question on Enhancing Road Safety

Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Transport in light of the recent fatal accident in Tampines 

a.     how can LTA deter the occurrence of similar accidents in high traffic areas; 

b.     how can driver awareness and education on road safety be enhanced, particularly on speeding and reckless driving; 

c.     how can LTA minimise accident risks in future through road design and traffic management; and 

d.     whether there are plans to enhance data collection and analysis to better address current and future road safety challenges.

Ms Poh Li San asked the Minister for Transport pending investigations into the fatal accident in Tampines that occurred on 22 April 2024 

a.     how will LTA improve the traffic safety provisions at this junction; and 

b.     what are the lessons learnt that can be pre-emptively applied to similar cross junctions islandwide to prevent similar tragic accidents in the future.

Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Amy Khor:

1.     Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take oral questions 11 and 12 together?

2.     The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has addressed several questions raised by Members on road safety. I will focus my response on road design and traffic management.

3.     I would like to begin by expressing my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims. I would also like to assure Members and Singaporeans that road safety is and will continue to be a priority for the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

4.     Mr Speaker, LTA focuses on safety by ensuring that: one, our roads are designed with safety in mind and two, our vehicles are safe for use on the roads. We enhance road design in three ways. First, our roads are designed in accordance with international safety requirements. Ms Poh asked about the safety provisions at the Tampines junction. This junction is also designed in accordance with international safety standards, which includes sufficient line of sight for road users to see each other clearly, and appropriate road kerbs, lane and arrow markings installed conspicuously.

5.     Second, LTA continues to review, develop and implement programmes that enhance road safety. Let me share a few examples:

a.     Since 2018, LTA has progressively implemented Red-Amber-Green, or RAG arrows to replace discretionary right turns at over 1,200 traffic junctions. Junctions with RAG arrows have shown a 40% reduction in traffic accidents. The work is on-going, and will extend to more traffic junctions.

b.     As of 2023, we have implemented 371 School Zones and 40 Silver Zones, in areas near schools and where there are higher proportions of senior residents. For School Zones, features include designated crossing facilities, coloured pavements, as well as traffic signs and markings. At primary schools, the speed is also lowered to 40km/h. For Silver Zones, we implemented reduced speed limits and road safety measures such as narrower and meandering lanes, road markings, additional crossings and speed humps. The Silver Zone initiative have proven effective in reducing the accident rate among senior pedestrians within the zones by about 80%.

c.     More recently, we have rolled out the Friendly Streets initiative to make daily journeys to key amenities in neighbourhoods safer, more convenient and comfortable. Besides the usual traffic calming measures, there will also be more frequent Green Man activations and longer crossing time to allow pedestrians, especially the elderly, to cross the road safely at these areas. We started with 5 pilot sites in 2023 and will begin engagements on further 10 sites in 2024, with the aim of bringing Friendly Streets to all towns by 2030.

6.     Third, LTA leverages data from sources such as traffic accident reports from Traffic Police, as well as feedback from local communities and road users, to design and implement localised road safety enhancements. Annually, LTA introduces about 1,000 of such enhancements across different parts of Singapore, including speed humps and 3D road markings.

7.     Beyond road design and infrastructure, LTA also conducts checks to ensure that the vehicles on our roads are roadworthy. They need to meet internationally recognised vehicle safety standards, as well as undergo periodic inspections. Enforcement will be carried out against errant vehicles. From 2021 to 2023, on average each year, LTA issued about 7,000 notices of offences for common illegal modification offences, conducted around 1,600 additional inspections, and charged more than five workshops for violations. We have also increased the penalties for illegal modification of vehicles.

8.     Finally, a critical factor besides safe roads and safe vehicles, is safe motorists. We support MHA to educate and engage motorists on road safety practices. As MHA said in the earlier reply, road safety is a shared responsibility, and we urge all road users to play their part, even as we do more to make our infrastructure safer for everyone. Enhancing road safety involves safe roads, safe vehicles, and safe road users.