Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Assessment of Traffic Signal Countdown Timers

Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Transport whether LTA will conduct a survey to assess the merits of incorporating countdown traffic signals at traffic lights for the benefit of drivers.

Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran:

1.     The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has assessed that traffic signal countdown timers do not necessarily improve road safety. LTA has studied the experiences of other countries and found that installing traffic signal countdown timers did not lead to any significant improvement in road safety. In fact, some jurisdictions that implemented traffic signal countdown timers eventually phased them out. This could be due to motorists speeding up to try to beat the red light, and such findings were corroborated during a six-month trial conducted by the LTA at the junction of North Bridge Road and Rochor Road. Nevertheless, LTA will continue to monitor and study this and other developments in traffic design, to improve road safety for all users.