The traffic police will progressively activate the speed enforcement function in red-light cameras across Singapore, particularly at locations that are more accident- or violation-prone, to deter motorists from speeding.

This would be the first time that this function is set to be used in these red-light cameras, which are orange and white in colour and used to capture red-light-beating motorists.

They are found at locations where there are no static speed cameras and are typically accompanied by warning signs indicating the speed limit for the road.

This move comes after a surge in fatal accidents and road traffic deaths in 2023.

More traffic accident deaths in 2023

A total of 136 people died in traffic accidents in Singapore in 2023, a 25.9 per cent jump from the 108 deaths in 2022.

The 136 fatalities figure is the highest since 2016, which saw 141 deaths.

There were 118 deaths in 2019, before Covid-19 struck.

The traffic police released its annual statistics report on Feb. 20.

The report also showed fatal accidents involving speeding, drink driving and running the red light cases have increased.

Motorcyclists and pillion riders accounted for half of all road fatalities.

Elderly pedestrians made up almost 20 per cent.

One area that showed improvement was the fewer number of cases of motorists running the red light, which fell from 44,688 in 2022 to 31,815 in 2023.

But the number of fatal accidents caused by running the red light went up from three in 2022 to eight in 2023.

Number of speeding-related fatal accidents up

The number of speeding-related fatal accidents increased from 18 in 2022 to 33 in 2023.

The total number of deaths from these accidents jumped from 20 to 37.

While speeding violations detected by traffic enforcement cameras fell from 73,152 in 2022 to 52,237 in 2023, the number of such violations detected by other police enforcement operations rose from 52,016 in 2022 to 63,468 in 2023.

The traffic police, describing the trend as "worrying", said: “This shows that speed cameras are effective in deterring speeding, and that motorists choose to speed at locations where they think no one is watching.”

The traffic police said: “The traffic statistics show that there are many motorists who have irresponsible driving behaviours.”

The traffic police added that failure on the part of the motorist to keep a proper lookout, failure to have proper control of the vehicle, or changing of lanes without due care led to a significant increase in the number of accidents.

In response, the traffic police will be increasing the composition sums and demerit points for certain traffic offences.

More details will be revealed later in 2024.

Drink-driving accidents saw a slight rise from 175 in 2022 to 180 in 2023.

Fatal drink-driving accidents also rose from 10 in 2022 to 11 in 2023.

Penalties

The penalty for running a red light is 12 demerit points and a composite fine of S$400 for light vehicles and S$500 for heavy ones.

If convicted of drink driving, first offenders can be fined from S$2,000 to S$10,000 and jailed for up to a year. Repeat offenders can face a fine of S$5,000 to S$20,000 and up to a two-year jail term.

Those convicted of drink driving can also face driving disqualification and vehicle forfeiture.

ATS Traffic Pte Ltd & Google Maps