IMPORTED MOTOR VEHICLES (Safety and pollution control standards)

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Mr Tang See Chim asked the Acting Minister for Communications whether he is satisfied that motor vehicles imported into Singapore meet with the required standards of safety and pollution control, and what are those standards.

The Acting Minister for Communications (Dr Yeo Ning Hong): Mr Speaker, Sir, the prototype of every new model of motor vehicle imported into Singapore is subjected to an inspection by the Registry of Vehicles to ensure that the vehicle meets the pollution and safety standards as specified in the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Rules, 1974.

In addition, imported second-hand vehicles must be inspected individually before they are allowed to be registered.

Mr Tang See Chim (Chua Chu Kang): Mr Speaker, Sir, what about the question of pollution control?

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, as I have stated in my answer, the pollution standards meet the specifications.

Mr Tang See Chim: What are those specifications?

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, I have all the details of the specifications. I would be happy to provide them to the Member for Chua Chu Kang if he should so require.

Mr Tang See Chim: Sir, is the Minister aware that in two separate accidents recently, two cars split into two? Does this mean that those makes of cars meet with the required safety standards?

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, those two accidents had nothing to do with pollution. Immediately after the accidents, ROV and the Traffic Police carried out detailed investigations. The investigations suggest that the accidents occurred at extremely high speeds at the point of impact. ROV had caused technical teams from the manufacturers to come to Singapore to study the accidents and to report on them. The manufacturers have carried out detailed investigations, including a re-enactment of the accident, and their technical reports suggest that the two accidents occurred with relative velocities in excess of 90 km per hour and 110 km per hour respectively. Preliminary studies of the reports that have been submitted to the ROV have given us indications that the vehicles met the safety standards that are internationally accepted.

I think the lesson that one can draw from these accidents is that motorists should drive safely and keep to the traffic rules.

Mr Tang See Chim: Mr Speaker, Sir, would the Minister comment whether this split-up of the vehicle is in fact a safety feature designed, during an accident, on impact, to release the occupants so as to save them from fatal injuries, like a fighter aircraft ejecting its pilot in the event of an accident?

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Mr Speaker, Sir, when an accident occurs with impact velocities in the region of 100 km per hour, very serious damage can occur to a vehicle. In the two particular incidents under discussion, the force applied to the vehicles was at an angle at the point of impact. This resulted in very serious shearing mechanical forces and caused the metal as well as the welding to tear.

Mr Ho See Beng (Khe Bong): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask the Minister how high is the passing rate of vehicles tested by VICOM.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, all vehicles have got to meet the standards set by ROV. Many of them do not pass on the first occasion, but upon servicing, repair and re-inspection, they pass.

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam (Anson): Mr Speaker, Sir, I have a supplementary question for the Acting Minister, and that is about the lead content in petrol. I asked this about two years ago. I want to know whether the Ministry is doing anything about it because the lead content, as the Minister is probably aware, has been determined as a health hazard.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, the question bears no relevance to the subject under discussion.

Mr Speaker: I think it has something to do with pollution control, Dr Yeo.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, the standard for lead content in the petrol used in Singapore has been decreased progressively and this subject will continue to be under study.

Mr Yeo Choo Kok (Delta): Sir, could the technical report in question be made public?

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Mr Speaker, Sir, I see no need for this particular technical report to be made public because this report has been made to the ROV by the manufacturers and it may contain proprietary information.

Mr Yeo Choo Kok: Sir, it is for the good and for the interest of the motoring public.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, if an accident occurs at very high speed, one can expect all kinds of damage. In other countries it has been observed that much more extensive damage occurs in accidents on freeways and expressways. And these occur whenever people do not obey traffic rules.

Mr Tang See Chim: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am interested in the Minister saying that there was a re-enactment of the accidents. I just wonder whether he would let us know how that was conducted.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Mr Speaker, Sir, many manufacturers of motor vehicles have extensive laboratories at their home base. Many of them also have test facilities where they have vehicles crashing at different angles and at different speeds. These accidents, which have been carefully designed, are then photographed with high-speed cameras and measurements made after the accident.