SIGNAGE FOR SPEED LIMITS

SIGNAGE FOR SPEED LIMITS

11.

Mr Terry Lee asked the Minister for Transport (a) how can the speed limit signage be made more prominent to drivers; and (b) what is the trend of traffic offences relating to speeding over the last two years.

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Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: It is important for all our traffic signs, including speed limit signs, to be visually prominent and easily understood by motorists. Therefore, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has gradually upgraded our traffic signs island-wide since 2000. All of our traffic signs are now six to 10 times more reflective than before, and conform to the United Nation's Convention on Road Signs and Signals (Vienna, 1968), with adaptations to suit the local context to ensure that motorists here can understand them quickly and intuitively.

The speed limit for all roads in Singapore is 50 km/h unless otherwise stated by speed limit signs. These signs are therefore located where appropriate. While we could theoretically install more speed limit signs to make them more prominent, LTA has to be very conscious that this does not lead to unnecessary cluttering of the motorist's view and the marring of our streetscape. A balanced approach has to be adopted.

LTA takes great care in ensuring that each and every traffic sign installed is optimally placed for visual prominence, taking into consideration the surroundings and the relative locations of roadside vegetation or other road elements. LTA also leverages on the regular pruning programme of National Parks Board to help ensure that signs do not get blocked by vegetation growth.

The number of speed violations increased from 158,811 in 2007 to 173,028 to 2009, which is an increase of about 9% over a three-year period. However, we should note that during this period, there was also a corresponding 8.7% increase in the motor vehicle population.

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