Police report a rise in fatalities and injuries from road accidents, with specific concerns over speeding, red-light running, and drink-driving.
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Force reported on Tuesday (Feb 20) a concerning rise in road traffic accidents that resulted in fatalities and injuries between 2022 and 2023. According to the Police’s Road Traffic Situation report for 2023, there was a significant increase in fatal car accidents, with 131 recorded last year compared to 104 in 2022, marking an almost 26 per cent rise. Additionally, accidents leading to injuries also saw an uptick, rising from 6,779 incidents in 2022 to 6,944 in 2023.
The report highlighted several traffic offences of concern, including speeding, red-light running, and drink-driving. While the number of red-light violations and speeding-related offences decreased in 2023, drink-driving incidents remained troubling. The number of red-light violations dropped nearly 30 per cent, from 44,688 in 2022 to 31,815 in 2023, while speeding violations saw a substantial reduction of 45.2 per cent, from 1,138 in 2022 to 624 in 2023. However, the number of drink-driving accidents increased by nearly 3 per cent, from 175 in 2022 to 180 in 2023, despite a slight decrease in overall drink-driving violations from 1,691 to 1,659.
The report also noted that elderly pedestrians and motorcyclists were disproportionately involved in road traffic accidents. Elderly pedestrians accounted for 68.4 per cent of fatal accidents involving pedestrians, and 69.2 per cent of pedestrian fatalities. Motorcyclists, who make up just 14.4 per cent of all vehicles, were involved in 53.5 per cent of traffic accidents and 50 per cent of fatalities involving vehicles.
Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SAC) Daniel Tan, Commander of the Traffic Police, emphasized the shared responsibility of all road users in ensuring road safety. He urged the public to exercise patience while on the roads and announced the upcoming introduction of speed enforcement in Red Light Cameras, set to roll out in the next quarter. “We will come down hard on road users who blatantly disregard the law,” he warned.
