Speech by Dr Amy Khor Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and Ministry of Transport at Road Safety Carnival for Families in Conjunction with Singapore Road Safety Month 2024

Mr Bernard Tay, Chairman Singapore Road Safety Council,

SAC Daniel Tan, Commander Traffic Police,

Mr Alvin Chia, Group Director, Traffic & Road Operations, LTA

Ladies and Gentlemen and to our friends who are joining us online,

1.     A very good morning to all. I am pleased to join all of you here today at the Road Safety Carnival for Families.

2.     This year, the Singapore Road Safety Council (SRSC) commemorates 15 years of championing safer road practices through the Singapore Road Safety Month. In the past few months, we have witnessed several tragic road traffic accidents that have left our society with a collective sense of loss and heartache. They are a timely reminder that our work to make our roads safer remain more important than ever.

3.     The Road Safety Carnival is one example of the SRSC’s good work. It brings together different stakeholders in the community and uses interactive activities to foster road safety awareness in an informative and memorable way. I hope everyone at the Carnival can bring back good safety tips and lessons to share with their friends and family.

Road Safety as a Priority

4.     Roads connect us to people and places – they facilitate our daily journeys to work and school, for leisure, to run errands, and back home to our loved ones. We want everyone who leaves home to be able to go home safely – pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists alike. There are three key aspects to road safety – infrastructure, enforcement and culture.

5.     First, infrastructure. Our road transport planners have safety as a key consideration in all infrastructure planning and design. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has implemented a series of programmes to make our roads safer, especially for vulnerable groups like the elderly, children, persons with disabilities (PWD) and motorcyclists.

6.     One, to provide clearer guidance to motorists, LTA has been replacing discretionary right turns at signalised junctions with Red-Amber-Green, or RAG, arrows since 2018. This prevents vehicles from making a turn into a road when the oncoming traffic signal is green. Today, over 1,200 junctions have RAG arrows. These junctions have shown a 40% reduction in traffic accidents. We are working to extend RAG arrows to even more traffic junctions where feasible – currently, an additional 200 junctions have been identified. Eventually, almost all eligible traffic junctions would have RAG arrows installed.

7.     Two, to protect our young and senior road users, we have implemented School Zones near schools, and Silver Zones in areas with higher proportions of senior residents. Within these zones, there are enhanced traffic calming measures like reduced speed limits, and more speed humps. There are also additional zebra and signalised crossing points in Silver Zones for pedestrians, especially seniors, to cross safely. Notably, we have seen an 80% reduction in the accident rate among senior pedestrians within Silver Zones. Today, there are 40 Silver Zones across Singapore, with plans underway to roll out another 10 Silver Zones by 2025. We will continue to monitor the needs of each neighbourhood and extend the Silver Zones scheme where necessary.

a.     As an additional step to protect vulnerable road users, senior pedestrians and PWDs can also activate the “Green Man Plus” reader at over 1,000 pedestrian crossings islandwide. This gives vulnerable pedestrians additional crossing time, allowing them to cross the road at a more comfortable pace. LTA will expand the Green Man Plus scheme to another 1,500 pedestrian crossings by 2027.

8.     Three, for all pedestrians and cyclists, we introduced the Friendly Streets initiative in 2023. We aim to make daily journeys by walking and cycling to key amenities in neighbourhoods, like your market, hawker centre, community clubs and schools, safer and more convenient for all. We started with five pilot sites, including Toa Payoh. The initiative was well received, so we are expanding the Friendly Streets initiative to all towns by 2030, including private estates with high activity areas and key amenities nearby. We will commence engagements with a further 10 sites this year.

a.     All Friendly Streets will have features to prioritise pedestrians and signages to remind motorists to slow down. Each Friendly Streets site will be shaped through close consultations with the local community, so that each site meets the needs of your community. So, if in future there is a Friendly Streets site coming near you, I encourage you to share your suggestions and feedback!

9.     Besides infrastructure, the second key aspect to road safety is enforcement. The Government also ensures that there is a robust ecosystem to promote good behaviour, while punishing bad behaviour. The Traffic Police ensures that new drivers are competent before being issued a licence, and enforces against errant and dangerous driving behaviour. Egregious offenders may have their licences suspended or revoked. To curb such errant behaviour, TP has intensified enforcement over the past few months. Close to 1,400 violations were detected and more than 25 motorists were arrested for traffic-related and other offences over a 6-week period in March and April. This stepped-up enforcement will continue. In addition, since 1 April 2024, TP has progressively activated the speed enforcement function in red-light cameras across the island, especially at locations that are more accident-prone or violation-prone. More than 2,400 speeding violations have been detected by these cameras thus far.

Road Safety Begins with You and Me

10.    While infrastructure improvements and enforcement are important, they alone are not enough. This brings me to the third key aspect of road safety – culture.

11.    Inculcating a strong road safety culture and graciousness among all road users takes time and commitment. This is why the work of the SRSC remains crucial. To encourage responsible practices among all road users and promote road safety awareness, TP and SRSC work with various partners and stakeholders on educational programmes. TP will be publishing a series of road safety videos in the second half of 2024, of which the first video of the series will be launched here today.

12.    But we cannot do this without your support. The tagline for this year’s Road Safety Month, “Road Safety Begins with You and Me”, is therefore apt.

13.    All of us have a part to play in making our roads safer. Inculcating gracious road user behaviour begins from young. Parents, grandparents and caregivers can be good role models for children by walking the talk, and practicing good road safety habits. For example:

a.     Remember to always use proper designated crossings like overhead bridges, zebra crossings and traffic lights;

b.     Practice the kerb drill – stop; look right, look left and look right again to check for any vehicles before crossing the road, and raise your hand while you cross; and

c.     Do not cross when the Green man is flashing or when the Red man appears.

14.    For those of us who drive, I urge you to adhere to traffic laws and speed limits. Please also remember to keep a proper lookout, signal, change lanes carefully and give way to other road users.

Conclusion

15.    Together, I believe that we can move beyond simply following the law, to becoming a truly gracious and caring society with mutual respect amongst all road users.

16.    I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all stakeholders and participating partners for your commitment towards road safety. I look forward to our continued close partnership with the SRSC and all of you.

17.    Thank you!