ROAD TRAFFIC (AMENDMENT NO. 3) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour (Mr Ong Teng Cheong): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

In Singapore, the responsibility for regulating driving behaviour is shared between the Registry of Vehicles (ROV) and the Traffic Police - two separate departments under the control of two different Ministries. The ROV is responsible for the testing and licensing of drivers and driving instructors to ensure that drivers possess adequate knowledge of traffic rules and the necessary driving skills. The Traffic Police, on the other hand, identifies bad drivers on the road through enforcement of traffic rules, and if a driver has to be suspended, the ROV is asked to take action. This arrangement is not exactly ideal, especially when the priorities of the two departments do not happen to coincide from time to time.

In Japan, the Police Agency is responsible, amongst other duties, for all matters concerning drivers - from the day the driver starts his first driving lesson to the day he commits his first traffic offence. Under this system, the Police would come to know of the strengths and weaknesses of the drivers and, with the licensing powers vested in them, the Police would be able to correct bad driving habits. Japan has one of the most impressive records in reducing the number of traffic accidents over the past 10 years. Traffic fatalities in Japan was reduced from a high of 16,000 in 1970 to 8,000 in 1979.

Having studied how the Japanese organize their Road Safety Department, we are convinced there is merit in having one single body responsible for regulating driving behaviour, including testing, licensing, education, rehabilitation and enforcement. It would certainly facilitate the formulation of effective programmes for reducing road accidents. For this reason, the Government has decided to transfer the testing and licensing functions of the ROV to the Traffic Police.

The Bill before the House proposes to amend the Road Traffic Act to enable the Minister for Home Affairs and the Traffic Police to administer those sections of the Act pertaining to the testing and licensing of drivers and driving instructors.

There is also a new section in the Bill which enables the Minister for Home Affairs to make rules for controlling the use of expressways. Expressways are designed to carry a high volume of high speed traffic and it is necessary to govern their use to get maximum value out of them.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed. 6.51 p.m.

Dr Lau Teik Soon (Serangoon Gardens): Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Bill standing in the name of the Minister for Communications. The Bill seeks to transfer the responsibility concerning the testing and licensing of drivers and driving instructors to the Minister for Home Affairs. In this connection, I would like to raise with the Hon. Minister a number of questions.

First, I would like to ask the Hon. Minister whether the Ministry of Home Affairs has the manpower to take on this added responsibility. Or is it the decision that the ROV officers responsible for the testing and licensing of drivers and driving instructors be transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs?

Mr Speaker, Sir, the Hon. Minister mentioned the Japanese system of reward and punishment. I would like to seek clarification whether, in introducing this amendment, there is not also a system of reward for drivers and driving instructors and not just one of punishment.

The purpose of the amendment is to achieve the integration of both regulation and enforcement, hopefully to reduce road accidents in Singapore. May I know from the Hon. Minister the number of road accidents including fatalities over the past few years?

Mr Jeyaretnam: Mr Speaker, Sir, I merely rise to ask by way of clarification from the Hon. Minister as to what class of traffic that he proposes to prohibit or restrict from using the expressways.

Mr Ong Teng Cheong: Mr Speaker, Sir, the first question from the Member for Serangoon Gardens is on the manpower requirement to administer these functions in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He has guessed it correctly that the officers from the ROV, who are presently administering these functions, will be transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs to help the Traffic Police to carry out these functions.

The second question is about the Japanese system. I do not remember mentioning in my speech about reward and punishment, although what he said is true. The Japanese do have a reward and punishment or carrot-and-stick method to encourage drivers to drive more carefully on the roads as a way to reduce traffic accidents. This is currently being looked into by the Traffic Police. I think it is premature for me at this stage to go into details. When the study is completed, I have no doubt that the Minister for Home Affairs or the Traffic Police will be making a public announcement on this.

The third question he asked is about traffic accidents over the past few years. The number of fatal accidents over the past few years are as follows: Number of Year fatal accidents 1975 287 1976 286 1977 271 1978 278 1979 234 1980 259 1981 273

In terms of number of people killed as per 10,000 persons based on population in Singapore, it had reduced from 1.3 per 10,000 persons in 1975 to 1.1 in 1981. It has improved, but this does not mean that there is no room for further improvement. The Traffic Police and the ROV will continue to find ways to make our roads as safe as possible.

The Member for Anson wishes to seek clarification on the types of prohibition that the Minister for Home Affairs would wish to have. I think one example is the stopping and parking of vehicles along the expressways. This will be prohibited unless it is an emergency. Another example is to prohibit pedestrians running across an expressway. This is all for the safety of the users of roads, I hope I have clarified that point.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Ong Teng Cheong].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Clause 1 -

The Chairman: The citation year will be changed to "1982". An alteration will also be made to page 1, line 4, to leave out "No. 3" in the short title.

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 2 to 7 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.