MINOR TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS (Investigations)

Mr Choo Wee Khiang asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Traffic Police investigate cases of minor accidents not involving any injury where there were no independent eye witnesses and Police were not at the scene; and (b) whether the Police can determine which party is at fault, based solely on the reports later made by those involved in the accident.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee)(for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, many motorists are still under the mistaken impression that even for minor accidents where there are no injuries or serious damage, they are required to lodge Police reports. This is not so. (For such minor accidents, the law does not require a police report unless the parties fail to exchange particulars.) As a result, Traffic Police are inundated with tens of thousands of reports of such minor accidents. In 1992 alone, there were 52,471 of such reports. Motorists making these reports expect the Traffic Police to make judgments and allocate blameworthiness and issue summons based purely on these reports. But in most of these cases it is almost impossible for Traffic Police to draw conclusions which will be fair. The reports are made after the parties and vehicles have left the scene and there are no independent witnesses. Almost always, each side making the report categorically asserts that the other is to blame.

Because of this, Traffic Police has scaled down investigation of such minor accidents and the insurance industry is aware of it. What is important is that in such accidents, the parties should exchange particulars and then report the accident to their respective insurance companies to pursue their insurance claims. This is the position in many other countries, including Australia.

The Traffic Police will, however, still investigate accidents where there is clear evidence of breaches of the law, incidents of criminal behaviour, such as road bullying, drunken driving, and reckless driving.