DRIVERS OF HEAVY VEHICLES (Action against dangerous driving)

Dr Koh Lip Lin asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many drivers of 3-ton and over vehicles have been charged with dangerous driving on the expressways and how many of them were involved in accidents; (b) whether he will consider introducing legislation to enable action to also be taken against the owners of the vehicles involved as well as the vehicles; and (c) if he will consider the installation of a device in such vehicles which would record the speeds at which the vehicles have been driven and which could be periodically checked by the relevant authority.

The Minister for Home Affairs (Prof. S. Jayakumar): Sir, from January to September this year, a total of 8,979 heavy vehicles were issued summonses for various moving offences on the expressways. Of these, 97.2% were booked for speeding, 2.7% for careless driving and 0.14% for inconsiderate driving.

For the same period, Sir, there were 55 accidents involving heavy vehicles on expressways. Of these, four were fatal, eight involved serious injuries and 43 involved slight injuries.

The existing legislation against drivers of heavy vehicles committing traffic offences is adequate. Under the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Rules, 1974, the owner of a vehicle can be liable for prosecution for improper maintenance or use of the vehicle. Therefore, in a traffic accident involving heavy vehicles, both the driver and owner may be prosecuted, though for different offences.

Finally, Sir, the Police is promoting the use of tachograph among major fleet owners. This device is installed in a vehicle which will record information relating to speed, distance travelled and the number of stops made during each journey. Last month the Traffic Police conducted a seminar for a number of major fleet owners on the subject of how to enhance the safety and performance of their fleet of vehicles. Among the subjects covered was the use of tachographs in vehicles. I am glad to say that the response from the participants was encouraging as most were in favour of the use of tachograph. 12.00 pm

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. Ministerial statement.

[Questions Nos. 28 to 41 and Nos. 43 and 44 on the Order Paper have been postponed. Written Answer to Question No. 42 has been supplied subsequently. (See section 'Oral Answer to Question Not Reached'(Cols. 51-2)].