ACCIDENTS INVOLVING MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT VEHICLES (Particulars)

Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for the Environment how many vehicles of his Ministry were involved in accidents in 1976, 1977 and 1978: how many of the accidents were serious and how many resulted in fatalities; and what steps have been or are being taken to reduce the number of accidents to the minimum.

The Minister for the Environment (Mr Lim Kim San): Mr Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Punggol may be glad to hear that the rate of accident in which vehicles of the Ministry of the Environment were involved has fallen during the years.

Mr Ng Kah Ting (Punggol): Very good!

Mr Lim Kim San: In 1976, the Ministry of the Environment had 567 vehicles. These were involved in 356 accidents of which three were serious and two were fatal. In 1977, there were 585 vehicles in the Ministry. There were 317 accidents of which four were serious and one was fatal. In 1978, the Ministry of the Environment had 608 vehicles and there were 268 accidents. Of these, three were serious and none was fatal.

Sir, what-steps are taken to further reduce the rate of accidents? In the Ministry of the Environment, each driver is given a simple handbook on safe driving. In addition, the drivers are briefed from time to time on safe driving. Drivers of specialised vehicles like refuse collection vehicles and mechanical sweepers are given special training before they are allowed to drive. In addition to police action, departmental disciplinary action is also taken from time to time to see that drivers drive safely.

To further minimise accidents, all the vehicles are regularly maintained. Each vehicle is inspected and serviced at least once in 40 days.

Mr Ho See Beng (Khe Bong): Mr Speaker, Sir, can I ask the Minister whether all these 268 accidents for last year have occurred as a result of the faults of the Ministry of the Environment's drivers?

Mr Lim Kim San: Sir, offhand, I would say that it cannot be because the law of averages does not allow it. It is impossible that all the 268 accidents were due to the fault of the drivers of the Ministry of the Environment. The drivers of the Ministry were responsible for some but not all the accidents.

Mr Ng Kah Ting: Mr Speaker, Sir, while I thank the Hon. Minister for his kind reply and for the figures on the number of accidents, I would like to refer him to the observation that in 1976 and 1977, over 60% of the vehicles were involved in accidents and in 1978 the accident rate dropped to over 40%. My question is: besides giving a handbook to the drivers and regularly maintaining the vehicles, are the drivers given incentives for accident-free driving for periods from six months up to a year? If incentives are given, does the Minister agree that the accident rate could be further reduced, to less than 40%?

Mr Lim Kim San: That is the ultimate objective, Sir, but as the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step."