February 21, 2019, 04:11 PM 
The Traffic Police have been receiving more feedback from motorists about irresponsible drivers.
In 2018, members of the public submitted 18,500 pieces of feedback on irresponsible driving to the Traffic Police. This was more than double the number of cases reported in 2014.
Review of Road Traffic Act
In order to improve road safety, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is currently reviewing the Road Traffic Act (RTA) and wants to know your views about it.
MHA proposes to create two new classes of offences under the RTA: Dangerous Driving and Careless Driving.
These two classes are further broken down into four tiers depending on the level of harm caused:
- Death
- Grievous Hurt
- Hurt
- Endangers Life (i.e. no hurt caused)
According to the ministry, Dangerous Driving and Careless Driving is differentiated via:
- The manner of driving (e.g. whether the motorist was driving at an excessively high speed, or manoeuvring his vehicle within very close proximity to other vehicles)
- Whether the motorist was driving when he was clearly not in a state to drive safely (e.g. when he was sleep-deprived, or not wearing any visual aid when he needed it)
- Whether the situation required the motorist to exercise extra care (e.g. when approaching zebra or pedestrian crossings) but he did not.
Both Dangerous Driving and Careless Driving will come with a longer maximum imprisonment and a higher maximum fine as compared to the Rash Act or Negligent Act in the Penal Code.
MHA says this is because motorists "ought to exercise greater care and responsibility" as they're in control of a vehicle that can potentially cause great harm.
If the driver was driving under the influence, they will be subjected to add-on penalties.
To this end, motorists who cause death or grievous hurt while driving dangerously or while under the influence will face a minimum imprisonment sentence.
Here are the enhanced penalties under the Road Traffic Act for Dangerous Driving and Careless Driving:
Higher composition fines to kick in on April 1, 2019
Separately, MHA will be raising the composition fines meted out to drivers from April 1, 2019:
| Road Traffic Act Offence | Current Composition Sums | Revised Composition Sums | ||
| Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | |
| Offences with 0 Demerit Points E.g. Illegal U-turn | $70 | $100 | $100 | $150 |
| Offences with 3 Demerit Points E.g. Driver failing to wear seat belt | $120 | $150 | $150 | $200 |
| Offences with 4 Demerit Points E.g. Crossing double white lines | $130 | $160 | ||
| Offences with 6 Demerit Points E.g. Driving on the shoulder of an expressway | $150 | $180 | $200 | $250 |
| Offences with 8 or 9 Demerit Points E.g. Driving without due care or reasonable consideration for other road users | $170 | $200 | $300 | $400 |
| Offences with 12 Demerit Points E.g. Failure to conform to red light signal | $200 | $230 | $400 | $500 |
| Offences above 12 Demerit Points E.g. Reckless or dangerous driving | No composition offered, due to severity of offences | |||
Pedestrians and cyclists who commit offences are also subjected to higher composition fines. Again this will kick in from April 1, 2019:
| Road Traffic Act Offence | Current Composition Sums | Revised Composition Sums |
| General Pedestrian Offences E.g. Failing to cross at a pedestrian crossing | $20 | $50 |
| Pedestrian Offences at an Expressway E.g. Entering an expressway tunnel on foot | $30 | $75 |
| Cyclist Offences E.g. Careless riding, not wearing a helmet while riding on the road, failure to conform to red light signal | $20 | $75 |
If you wish to give your feedback regarding these proposed changes the the Road Traffic Act, you can do so via the REACH website or email at [email protected]. The public consultation period is from 21 Feb to 13 Mar 2019.
You can view the rest of MHA's press release here.
Top image by Joshua Lee
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