On Tuesday (7 May), Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Gan Thiam Poh asked Minister of State for Home Affairs Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim about the timings of traffic accidents.
Specifically, he asked if studies had been done on such an issue, to which Assoc Prof Faishal replied that accidents could happen anytime regardless of traffic.
The exchange transpired during a Parliamentary discussion on road safety in Singapore in light of the fatal accident in Tampines that claimed two lives.
During the parliamentary session on Tuesday (7 May), Mr Gan said, “Is there a study on the timing of the most accidents that happen?”
He stated that such a study is useful as the traffic police would then be able to pay extra attention during such periods throughout the day.
In response, Assoc Prof Faishal said that accidents can happen regardless of the time of the day.
“Even when there are no vehicles, accidents have happened,” he said.
The whole idea is not about timing alone… it’s about the behaviour.
He added that authorities would want to make sure such behaviour is improved.
Source: MCI Singapore on YouTube
“We have looked at the various factors of accidents, why accidents happen,” Assoc Prof Faishal said. “Essentially, it’s about… lack of control of their vehicle, they did not look out sufficiently for traffic.”
He concluded that there are numerous factors, beyond just timing, that determine why accidents occur on the road.
Answering more parliamentary questions about traffic road accidents penalties, Assoc Prof Faishal said that Singapore’s roads have become safer, citing a 10% decrease in accidents causing injuries or fatalities between 2019 and 2023.
However, he noted that fatal traffic accidents have increased by 12% during the same period, with 117 fatal accidents in 2019 compared to 131 in 2023.
The top two causes of fatal accident during this period were:
On average, three fatal accidents a year were investigated under reckless or dangerous driving. Meanwhile, an average of 29 fatal accidents were speeding-related each year.
However, he said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will not increase penalties under the RTA, which was last done in 2019.
Assoc Prof Faishal also highlighted the stiffening of enforcement action against traffic-related offences. These include installing red-light cameras that helped detect more than 800 speeding violations since April.
Despite this, he noted that it wasn’t “feasible” to install red-light cameras at all traffic junctions and zebra crossings.
Assoc Prof Faishal ultimately urged everyone to do their part to uphold road safety as it is “necessarily a shared responsibility.”
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Featured image adapted from MCI Singapore on YouTube.
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