The police would like to assure Mr Ace Kindred Cheong ('Take harsher measures to curb dangerous driving'; ST, May 12) that the Traffic Police constantly review existing legislation to ensure it remains relevant and provides adequate deterrence against undesirable driving behaviour. However, legislation alone is not the solution.
The Traffic Police also constantly innovate our enforcement and education efforts to enhance road safety. This includes acquiring high-tech equipment to enforce action against speedsters, and working with stakeholders to drive home our anti-drink-driving messages.
We would also like to clarify that it is not comprehensive to compare the road fatality rate internationally based on one indicator, that is, the fatalities per 10,000 vehicle population, as provided by the Land Transport Authority. There are many factors to be considered to better assess the road safety level - for example, behaviour of drivers, vehicle density and population size.
Two such considerations are differences in landscape and vehicle composition.
Traffic situations on urban roads tend to be more complex than in rural areas. There are more varied road intersections and junctions, and higher interaction with other road users, resulting in higher probability of accidents.
Singapore, with a predominant urban landscape, is likely at a disadvantage when comparing road fatality rate with countries with more rural areas.
Motorcycles constitute between 3 per cent and 5 per cent of the vehicle population in developed countries such as Japan, United States, Britain and Australia. In comparison, motorcycles constituted 19 per cent of the vehicle population in Singapore in 2005 with motorcyclists and pillion riders contributing to more than half (55 per cent) of total fatalities on the road.
Not all countries have a common set of data collected and this makes comparisons difficult. Nevertheless, Singapore has one of the lowest road fatality rates per 100,000 human population, among developed countries. In 2005 and last year, Singapore's road fatality rate per 100,000 human population was 4.0 and 4.2 respectively compared to the 2005 figures of Britain (5.3), Japan (5.4), Australia (8.1), Canada (9.1) and the US (14.7).
Compared with cities of similar landscape such as Hong Kong (2.1), Tokyo (2.3), Osaka (3.0), New York (4.0), San Francisco (4.5), Kyoto (4.5), Seoul (4.9), Chicago (6.6), Los Angeles (7.4), Washington (8.7) and Detroit (12.7), our road fatality rate of 4.0 per 100,000 human population ranks favourably.
Also, despite an increase in Singapore's human and vehicle population by 18 and 17 per cent respectively over the past 10 years, the number of fatal accidents has dropped significantly by 26 per cent, from 247 cases in 1997 to 182 in 2006.
However, we should never be complacent. The unnecessary loss of lives on the roads can be prevented if everyone adopts zero tolerance towards irresponsible acts and is proactive in promoting road safety.
For instance, if your friends and relatives speed, drink-drive or behave recklessly on the road, stop them. Road safety is a shared responsibility, and together, we can make travelling on the roads a safe and enjoyable experience.
Audrey Ang Assistant Director (Media Relations) Singapore Police Force
