ROAD TRAFFIC (AMENDMENT NO. 2) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for Communications (Mr Mah Bow Tan): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the Bill seeks to amend the Road Traffic Act for two main purposes. First, it is to enable the Ministry of National Development (MND) to implement a scheme to require heavy vehicles to have a proper overnight parking place. Second, it is to enable the Registry of Vehicles (ROV) to streamline and, in some cases, to inject flexibility into its procedures on the implementation of the vehicle quota system, the deregistration of vehicles and the collection of road tax.

Let me explain the provisions in the Bill.

Overnight Parking of Heavy Vehicles

The Minister of State for National Development has earlier explained the need to implement the vehicle parking certificate scheme when he spoke on the Second Reading of the Parking Places (Amendment) Bill. Under this scheme, owners of heavy vehicles will be required to show proof of a proper overnight parking lot for the vehicle before they will be allowed to register or transfer the ownership of the vehicle or to renew its road tax. Clauses 2, 4, 6 and 10 of the Road Traffic (Amendment No. 2) Bill are to provide for this requirement and will enable ROV to assist the Ministry of National Development in implementing the scheme.

Certificate of Entitlement

Under the present law, a vehicle will be deregistered once its Certificate of Entitlement (COE) has expired and is not renewed. However, in practice, ROV gives vehicle owners a grace period of up to 14 days to renew the expired COE. This is an administrative arrangement.

Clause 3(a) of the Bill which provides for the late renewal of COE is to regularise this administrative arrangement. However, we also want to discourage motorists from renewing their COEs late. Therefore, clause 3(b) is to allow for the imposition of penalties for late renewals.

Deregistration of Vehicles

Vehicles, once deregistered by ROV, should either be scrapped or exported and are not to be used on our roads. These vehicles could be deregistered either on safety grounds or because the owners have no more use for them. In some instances, COE and PARF rebates or road tax refunds would have been granted to the owners.

Currently, ROV does not require proof of the disposal of deregistered vehicles. As such, there is no certainty that these vehicles have been taken off our roads permanently. Between May 1992 and August 1993, 289 deregistered vehicles were found by ROV during its regular enforcement operation. These vehicles have been impounded. Clause 9 of the Bill is to require owners of deregistered vehicles to produce proof that the vehicles had been disposed of either through export or scrap within one month of deregistration of the vehicles.

Refunds of Road Tax

Prior to 1st May 1992, the period for which road tax of a newly-registered vehicle was payable would be computed from the first day of the month in which the vehicle was registered. With effect from 1st May 1992, the road tax for new registrations has been computed on a daily basis instead.

As a follow-up to this, clauses 5, 7 and 8 are to allow refunds on road tax to be computed on a daily basis as well.

Prosecution of Offences

Currently, the Road Traffic Act only provides for the managing director or the manager of a company to answer for offences committed by the company. However, not all companies list the managing director or manager in the Registry of Companies and Business Names.

Clause 11 of the Bill therefore provides for the inclusion of the director, or agent of a company, as persons liable to be punished for offences committed by the company.

Sir, I beg to move.

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 Mah Bow Tan].

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