Traffic Accidents in School Zones

Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) over the last three years, how many road traffic accidents occurred in school zones; (b) how many of these accidents involved students; and (c) what additional safety measures are put in place to enhance road safety in school zones.

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The Second Minister for Home Affairs (Mr S Iswaran) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, in 2011, there were 16 accidents within school zones in which there was an injury or fatality. This is a decrease from 35 such accidents in 2009 and 28 such accidents in 2010. In the last three years, a total of 10 children aged 12 and below were injured in such accidents, and there were no fatalities.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary from MOE has already elaborated on what is being done by the Ministry and also on the efforts by the Land Transport Authority, in terms of the Enhanced School Zones. I would augment that by talking about what the Traffic Police are doing on the enforcement front. Essentially, the Traffic Police conducts ground patrols around school zones and the vicinity of schools. Based on feedback from schools and residents, the Traffic Police will step up its enforcement patrols from time to time, where necessary. The Traffic Police will also work through the schools to issue advisory letters to parents. Errant road users are taken to task and firmly dealt with.

The Traffic Police will also work with the Land Transport Authority, schools and the local community on education efforts to inculcate road safety awareness and road courtesy. One such initiative involves the Road Safety Community Park where children are taught basic traffic rules, and to keep a proper lookout for motorists when using the roads. Finally, I would like to reinforce and echo an important point made earlier, which is that road safety is, indeed, a shared responsibility. We seek the cooperation of parents and all other stakeholders, including schools and the community, to ensure that our children are aware of how to use the roads safely.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Nee Soon): Mr Speaker, let me thank the Minister for his reply. Just last month, a nine-year old Primary Four boy was killed by a speeding car outside Sembawang Primary School while crossing at the traffic light, which was displaying a blinking "green man", and this was in a school zone. I would like to ask a few supplementary questions. First of all, what is the speed limit in the Enhanced School Zone and how effectively is this enforced? Does the Minister think that the Enhanced School Zone is currently adequate to ensure the safety of our children? Because every young life lost is one too many, and certainly for such a tragic event, we must do our best to prevent at all cost. I would also like to know whether we are reviewing the Enhanced School Zone since it was implemented a few years back, and whether there are any plans for MHA and MOE to review and see how that could be enforced. How many summons tickets have recently been given at Enhanced School Zones? We do not really see much enforcement at Enhanced School Zones.

Mr S Iswaran: Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Member for his questions. Let me say, first, that we all share his concerns for the safety of our children when they use the roads. I think, first of all, we ought to put the numbers in perspective. The accidents that occurred within the school zones are 0.3% of the total accident statistics. So, it is a very small proportion. We should still take it seriously, but we need to keep it in context. It is not a problem that has grown and gotten out of hand.

Secondly, on the question on speed limits, the speed limit is typically 50 kph in these Enhanced School Zones. It is set by the Land Transport Authority. But the Traffic Police works with the Land Transport Authority and, indeed, other local stakeholders to ascertain whether there is a need to vary those requirements, specifically whether to lower the speed limit in situations where it is warranted. This is something that is done based on local circumstances. But, typically, the speed limits are set at 50 kph. The overall statistics would suggest that it has been reasonably adequate.

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Thirdly, on the question of whether the Enhanced School Zone ought to be reviewed, the point I would make is that the investigation is underway on this particular case and I think we should allow for it to find out what the full reasons are in due course. In the meantime, we should refrain from drawing too generalised a conclusion. But, at the same time, if there are local or specific actions required, I want to assure the Member that they would be taken by the Traffic Police and the other Government authorities.