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Changing lanes can be a risky manoeuvre, especially with oncoming traffic behind you - That is why: (1) Our vehicles come with side mirrors; and (2) We must check our blind spots before performing a lane change. However, a BMW 520i driver does the unthinkable despite oncoming traffic approaching from behind: What Happened? After exiting the infamous Newton Circus Roundabout, a BMW 520i found himself stuck behind a Mercedes-Benz B-Class in a "go straight or right turn" lane. At that point, the traffic light signal for going straight was green, while the right turn arrow was red. After realising that the Mercedes-Benz intended to turn right (Yes, the Mercedes-Benz did not signal his intention), the BMW driver decided to perform an abrupt lane change to a "go straight only" lane. The BMW driver immediately changed his lane after signalling, cutting off the cam bike approaching him...RIGHT IN FRONT of a Traffic Police (TP) officer. After witnessing the BMW's reckless act, the TP officer did not hesitate to pull him over. It remains unclear whether the TP took enforcement actions against the BMW driver or if the BMW driver was let off with a stern warning. A Sight To See NGL, it is quite comforting to know that there are TPs on our road to ensure that actions are taken against errant motorists. Kudos to the TP officer in the video for his swiftness and for upholding road safety for us all! Netizens' Comments Use signal but never check mirrors or blind spot = Still a d0uche driver. This netizen finally got it off his chest! I hope he realised it and picked it up before leaving the scene... ========= Be the first to get the latest road/ COE news, and get first dibs on exclusive promos and giveaways in our Telegram SGCM Community. Join us today!

Today, we have a Toyota Hiace driver that might have allowed water to seep inside his brain while driving in the rain. He drives against traffic flow along Changi Road towards the city and cuts across three lanes to turn into Siglap Ave. The best part is, he's driving calmly as if he's doing nothing wrong when in actual fact, he's scaring everybody As a driver myself, Singapore roads are extremely easy to navigate. I admit that I've driven against traffic before albeit in a carpark but never on a main road. Anyways, I digress. Here's the video. Where is this place? Gungho right? This is where the incident happend, courtesy of Google Maps. Maybe he made a wrong turn after pumping petrol at ESSO? For the folks here, when driving, please watch out for "unusual vehicle" and don't assume that everyone follows road regulations. Do not hesitate to alert them of their wrongdoings to prevent somebody from getting hurt.

We have a highly intense video to talk about today. We counted five infractions in just 20-seconds! Mistake no. 1 Pedestrian A uses his phone while crossing the zebra crossing. Mistake no. 2 The driver of Toyota Estima didn't give away to the PMD rider crossing the zebra crossing. 🙅‍♂️ Mistake no. 3 Boy boy in white riding a PMD so recklessly! Mistake no.4 Young mother (I assume ah) riding with her kid without any safety equipment and looking at her phone while riding PMD. 🤦‍♂️ MIstake No. 5 The boy boy in white just weaving left and right on the road like it is his grandfather road. Mistake No. 6 The boy boy in white just turns at a junction leading to a road that goes against traffic flow. Let us know if you spotted more! Here's the video for you reference. --- Thinking of selling your car? sgCarMart Quotz guarantees the highest selling price for your car. We’ll even give you $100 cash if you find a better offer elsewhere! Get a free quote to find out how much your car is worth today!

On 11th May 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) uploaded a video onto their official Facebook page featuring the Commander of Traffic Police, SAC Gerald Lim. Spanning 4 minutes, the video takes on the latest amendments to the Road Traffic Act and other traffic-related matters. Key amendments to the Road Traffic Act 1. Illegal speed trials An illegal speed trial is defined by a trial where two or more vehicles compete at high speeds through a stretch of road. As noted in the video, vehicles that are involved in illegal speed trials may also be illegally modified to go faster, which is an offence on its own. For first-time offenders, individuals will face a fine of up to $5,000, up to 12 months of imprisonment or both. Repeat offenders will face a jail sentence of up to 24 months, a fine of $10,000 or both. Additionally, MHA announces that the vehicle forfeiture routine for illegal speed trials will be amended to make it non-mandatory. This means that if an offender is not the owner of the vehicle involved in an illegal speed trial, and if an offender had used the vehicle without the owner’s consent, there will be no forfeiture of the vehicle to the state. This will ensure that the forfeiture regime is consistent with other offences. 2. Pretending to be the offending driver Under the new amendments, it is now an offence to defeat the course of justice by asking someone else to pretend to be the offending driver for various situations. This involves not just the individual who is facing the penalties on behalf of someone else, but also the individual who is asking someone else to face the penalties on their behalf. The penalty for this offence includes facing imprisonment for up to 12 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. Offenders will also be disqualified from driving. 3. Road rage While road rage has been steadily declining in recent years, this uncouth behaviour still exists among local drivers. As such, MHA is introducing new laws to make it easier for motorists who commit this offence to be completely disqualified from driving. According to a CNA article, this new amendment includes license disqualification for all offences under any written law committed in the context of road rage. These offences include voluntarily causing hurt, causing death by negligent act and wrongful restraint. For motorists who find themselves a victim of a road-rage offence, SAC Gerald advises drivers to: 1. Remain calm 2. Avoid an exchange of words 3. Apologise to diffuse the situation 4. Call the authorities if the offender continues to be hostile Additional amendments MHA has also introduced minor amendments with regards to road safety. 1. Driving license suspensions Under the new amendment, there is no need for secondary legislation to prescribe the circumstances and suspension lengths for future suspensions of driving licenses. This is to provide more operational flexibility. 2. Enhanced criminal penalties Enhanced criminal penalties for serious traffic offences and repeat offenders will only apply to individuals who have been convicted on at least 2 previous instances. This would mean that drivers who have been charged and convicted of the same offence before will face the enhanced penalties, even if the maximum penalty for the offence is lower. 3. Taking compounded offences into account for court sentencing With the new amendment, the court will be able to take into account any traffic offence compounded after 2019 as aggravating factors during sentencing. What are your thoughts on the new amendments? Should there be more done to ensure greater traffic safety on our roads? For further clarification on the new amendments, you can read the full article on Channel News Asia.

A middle-aged man in Singapore who really needed to move his bowels ended up getting jailed seven weeks and disqualified from driving for four years on Jan. 6, 2021. Hoo Tee Tuan, 57, drove at 180kmh at one point to his brother's coffee shop to answer an utmost urgent call of nature. As a result of having to do a Number 2, Hoo pleaded guilty to one charge each of rash driving and failing to stop for a police officer. Irritable bowel syndrome experienced late one night The incident happened at around 3am on March 1, 2019. Hoo left the Marina Bay Sands casino and was driving home towards Jurong. A traffic police officer saw Hoo speeding and gave chase with the car's blinkers turned on. The chase occurred after Hoo exited the Pan Island Expressway towards Jurong Canal Drive, and he hit 180kmh at one point as he was being chased. Hoo made several turns and ran two red lights, and even stopped midway and drove against traffic towards Boon Lay Way while making a turn from Jurong East Street 31. After he drove against traffic once more later, a taxi got in his way, forcing him to stop when he tried to enter a Housing and Development Board car park. Driver's pants soiled when arrested Hoo’s lawyer said his client had been suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, Today reported. When the police pulled Hoo over, he had soiled his pants by then. Hoo's lawyer said in court that the police had to line the back seat of the police car with a plastic sheet before he was allowed to enter it, according to Today. The lawyer also said Hoo was not racing and he was "looking for a toilet". He could have stopped by the road: DPP The Deputy Public Prosecutor argued that Hoo's bowel condition was not a justifiable reason for putting other road users in danger, and that he had known about his own condition for about a year. “He could have stopped along the road once he exited the highway,” Today reported the DPP saying. However, it is unclear from the news report if the DPP meant a motorist has the option of defecating by the road. The judge did ask in court if Hoo should be driving if he knew about his condition, to which the defence lawyer said his client has learned his lesson, Today also reported. Hoo is out on S$15,000 bail. He will start his jail sentence on Jan 27. Anyone found guilty of dangerous driving can be jailed up to a year or fined up to S$5,000, or both. Anyone who fails to stop for a police officer can be jailed up to three months or fined up to S$1,000, or both. source: https://mothership.sg/2021/01/singapore-man-needed-to-shit-speed/

Discounts for traffic fines can be considered: Shanmugam in response to Pritam’s instalment payment suggestion source: https://mothership.sg/2020/03/pritam-fines-instalment/ Home affairs minister K Shanmugam said on Monday, March 1, that the suggestion to offer discounts on traffic fines can be considered. This issue was raised by Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, and addressed by Shanmugam during the committee of supply debate in Parliament. Pritam said that while composition fines have increased from S$70 to S$100 and S$100 to S$150 for a variety of traffic offences even as they serve as a deterrence, they affect low income road users more as they cannot afford to pay such hefty penalties at one go. “Those most heavily affected by the new high fines are taxi and private hire car drivers, motorcycle couriers, and the low income, who may not have the ability to pay such a large sum of money at one go,” Pritam said. “I would like to request the ministry to consider the option of offering an automatic instalment plan for comparatively minor offences that do not attract a custodial sentence on the condition that the offender undertake not to commit a civil offence, failing which, no instalment plan will be offered as of right.” Pritam added that many of the residents he sees who are on the receiving end of these new fines admit to the offenses and are usually contrite. Discounts for demerit points already implemented In response to the suggestion of instalment payments, Shanmugam said motorists who cannot afford the fines will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Traffic Police. Even though discounts have not been applied to fines yet, calibrating penalties to be more lenient have been implemented for the demerit points system, Shanmugam said. This scheme is currently available for eligible drivers who accumulate at least one-third of the maximum allowable demerit points to undergo a safe driving course. “Upon completing the course, four demerit points will be expunged from the driver’s record”, Shanmugam said. Full exchange between Pritam and Shanmugam here: Pritam: Generally, for example, the fines for illegal U-turns, while attracting zero demerit points, were raised from S$70 to S$100, while the heavy vehicle drivers saw the composition sum for the same offence increased from S$100 to S$150. In fact there was an increase in the compensation fines for all offences that attracted fines up to 12 demerit points. For offences that attracted at least 12 demerit points which could manifest, for example, in a failure to conform to a red light signal, the composition fine has been doubled from S$200 to S$400. While heavy vehicle drivers have seen that same offence have seen a jump in the same offense from S$230 to S$500, and so far as the fine amount is concerned. So I agree that road safety is something we cannot compromise upon and the need for deterrence is obvious. However, many of the residents I see who are on the receiving end of these new fines, admit to the offenses and are usually contrite. In most cases, there is no question of actual harm caused because that would attract more severe penalties, anyway. Those most heavily affected by the new high fines are taxi and private hire car drivers, motorcycle couriers, and the low income who may not have the ability to pay such a large sum of money at one go. In the appropriate case I would like to request the ministry to consider the option of offering an automatic instalment plan for comparatively minor offences that do not attract a custodial sentence on the condition that the offender undertake not to commit a civil offence, failing which no instalment plan will be offered as of right. This approach seeks to retain the deterrence and policy objective of higher fines. Some jurisdictions around the world even offer to halve a fine provided it is paid forth with. Such a proposal can be modified with for better policy outcomes, for example, with a requirement for some retraining or refresher defensive driving courses. I hope the minister, and for first the first time offenders only, I hope the ministry can consider such alternatives that achieve the objective of increased road safety awareness and deterrence on the one hand, and reasonable consideration for the financial consequences on frequent, usually low income road users, on the other. Shanmugam We amended the Road Traffic Act in 2019 to increase deterrence against irresponsible driving. Pritam Singh asked whether road traffic fines can be paid in instalments, and whether a one-time discount on points and penalties can be offered for low-income road users. We start with the basic principle. Traffic rules are enforced for all motorists, because the law must be administered equally and fairly. For genuine cases of financial difficulty, the Traffic Police will assess appeals on a case-by-case basis. Something we can consider is the other suggestion to offer discounts on fines to first-time offenders subject to conditions. There is a similar approach for demerit points but not for fines. The Traffic Police offers a safe driving course for eligible drivers who accumulate at least one-third of the maximum allowable demerit points. Upon completing the course, four demerit points will be expunged from the driver’s record.

Is it just me or has there been an increase in idiot drivers in Singapore lately? In a video uploaded on Roads.sg, a Honda Vezel can be seen driving against the flow of traffic along Onan Road (near Joo Chiat-ish). In case you haven’t seen the video, here you go Video taken from Roads'sg YouTube channel According to the accompanying caption on Roads.sg, this happened at 1840hrs (that’s 6.40pm) Apparently, on this road, it seems to be the “norm” and these offences are allegedly committed by residents. Idiot driver? Indeed. Comments taken from Roads.sg Facebook Page But wait, there’s more! An image of yet another car going against traffic. This time from All Singapore Stuff’s Facebook page. Image taken from All Singapore Stuff Facebook Page The car in question, a Toyota Altis, can be seen facing the wrong way (notice the “SLOW” marking on the road?). This incident happened at Holland Flyover. On an unrelated note, did you notice the human at the background? I digress. Back to the topic at hand, we did some digging and driving against the flow of traffic is labelled as “Dangerous Driving”. The penalties are as follows if you’re a “non-serious offender”, which means you were not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Serious offenders naturally will have longer jail term and stiffer fines. So please, don’t be an idiot.

1) Anyone made an online report regarding Traffic Offence before? what happens after submitting online? does the Traffic Police call you - and after how long? what they require and what was the outcome? 2) In what situations will you bother to make a report to the Traffic Police? or will you close one eye for everything?

Hubby was driving my car. Received call from TP suddenly saying that there was a hit-and-run by my car. Finally found out that the "hit-and-run" was when hubby came out of parking lot and accidently hit the side of another car, causing the other car bumper to fall off. He was not aware that he had hit the other car. My car camera showed that his exit from parking lot was smooth and there was no sudden stop by my car. He also did not exit the car to check or anything like that. My car (Merc) showed some paint on the back passenger (right side) door. Upon some washing, all was removed and only a tiny small pen hole dent as found. Hubby then received a notice of offence from TP. 2 offences - careless driving ($200 + 6 points) and $200 for failing to stop after accident. Hubby said to just pay up and close case. But I feel its rather unfair and he should appeal. Any advice?

It was an upscale mall at orchard No drop off only taxi stand. It was drizzling but not raining. So of course traffic police could rebut and say that it's not heavy rain so my mom doesn't need shelter I feel scared of driving now

Looks like such habits are on the rise. Some drivers simply bochup traffic lights nowadays.

In March 1983, the Traffic Police replaced the PDS (Points Demerit System) with the DIPS (Driver Improvement Points System). Under the former, stricter scheme, Singaporean motorists who accumulated 12 demerit points in a year would have their driving licences revoked. Under DIPS, however, a driver would only lose his licence if he racked up 24 points within two years. New drivers who’d just passed their driving test, on the other hand, still had to abide by “PDS rules” – their licences would be revoked if they amassed more than 12 demerit points within 12 months. But the leniency of DIPS compared to PDS soon attracted criticism. The AAS (Automobile Association of Singapore), for one, was concerned that it might cause some good drivers to go bad, since they had more points to “play” around with. Singapore’s Traffic Police (TP), however, hoped that the doubling of the points and allotted time period would not only give some allowance to motorists who might have unintentionally committed traffic offences, but also persuade repeat offenders to “self-correct” before it was too late. In any case, TP made the penalties for certain offences even stiffer under DIPS – for example, beating the red light used to mean a $150 fine (for light vehicles) and six demerit points, but these were raised to $200 and 12 demerit points respectively after the DIPS was amended in 2000. The scheme had been extended to foreigners the year before, creating a fairer playing field for every motorist who uses our roads regularly. To incentivise motorists to practise good driving habits, any demerit points accumulated under the DIPS scheme will be erased if the driver stays “clean” for the 12 months following his last offence. Any suspensions, too, would be wiped off his driving record if he remains offence-free for two years from the time his licence was suspended. Speaking of which, if your driving suspension is for a year or longer, you’ll have to earn it back later on by passing the theory and practical exams all over again. The best incentive by far is the Certificate of Merit, given to every motorist who maintains a clean driving record for three years straight. This reward entitles him to a five per cent discount on his car insurance premium upon renewal, in addition to any No-Claims bonus, provided his insurer participates in this scheme and he didn’t file any policy claims during the last three years. This article was written by Jeremy Chua, writer for Torque.

Repost due to Outage SINGAPORE : From June 7, drivers can go online to find out how many traffic demerit points they have chalked up or if they have any outstanding traffic summons. The new online service, the Electronic Driver Data Information and Enquiry System, also allows applicants to find out the status on new driving licences. An Identity Card number, vehicle number and driver's licence serial number are needed for verification. For foreign vehicles, access to the site can be done by using a vehicle number. Once logged on, the website will provide a summary of traffic offences that have been paid up. The website includes information about non-demerit offences as well - like parking summons. Drivers can log on to www.ecitizen.gov.sg or http://www.spf.gov.sg/epc/index.html to access the information