WORK ON PUBLIC ROADS (Adoption of greater safety measures)

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WORK ON PUBLIC ROADS:

(Adoption of greater safety measures): 4.

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for Transport whether his Ministry will instruct those who work on public roads to adopt greater safety measures by making sure that ample notice is given to traffic of their presence on the road.

Dr Balaji Sadasivan (for the Minister for Transport): Sir, I fully agree with the Member that there is a need to give ample notice to traffic of road works.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is empowered to control works on public streets through the Street Works Act (SWA) and Street Works (Works on Public Streets) Regulations.

Under the Regulations, all utility agencies and contractors working on public streets are required to comply with the Code of Practice for Traffic Control at Work Zone (COP), which sets in place a set of comprehensive measures for those who work on public roads. The COP outlines clear standards and procedures and provides guidelines to utility agencies and contractors on the acceptable traffic control requirements needed to ensure the safety of the workers, motorists and pedestrians. LTA also chairs the monthly Road Opening Co-ordination Committee (ROCC) meeting with representatives from the National Parks Board, Traffic Police, HDB, JTC and the various utility agencies to emphasise the importance of road works traffic safety measures through the sharing of lessons learnt and good practices.

Under the COP, agencies must erect or provide early warning notices to motorists approaching the work zone. In

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addition, the COP also requires lane changes to be demarcated with orange cones or water filled barriers, depending on the nature of the diversions or road openings. These are supplemented by advance warning signs, placed at least 20 metres from the work zone. On major highways, bright orange signs with alerts such as caution, arrows to show the diversion of the roads, works ahead, etc, are located at least 100 metres upstream, so that motorists would be aware of the situation and to exercise care and caution. As vehicles tend to be travelling at a higher speed on the highways, truck-mounted attenuators and orange cones also have to be provided just prior to the work zone, to help absorb the impact if vehicles should miss all the advance notices and still crash into the work site.

Members may wish to note that the LTA reviews and updates the COP regularly by drawing on the experiences of developed countries in traffic control and safety practices. LTA also regularly educates the road users on these measures, to ensure that they are able to react appropriately when faced with the various traffic control measures.

Failure to adhere to the COP renders errant contractors in violation of the Street Works Regulations and penalties in the form of a system of fines and demerit points will be meted out. In the last three months, 71 contractors had been fined for not complying with the COP.

Though the COP is comprehensive, it is only as effective as the contractors and workers who implement it on the ground. To ensure proper implementation of the COP, LTA also conducts regular audits to identify sites with poor traffic control. Motorists can also play their part by calling LTA's hotline if they spot unsafe practices at road works so that these practices can be made right as soon as possible.

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Should Mr Chiam, or any Member of the House, come across such a situation, please call 1800-CALL LTA (1800-2255 582).

Mr R Ravindran (Marine Parade): Sir, after an accident had happened, it is too late for one to call and alert the LTA officers. I have come across many instances where some of these contractors, because they are poorly trained workers, provide inadequate notice to oncoming vehicles. I am just wondering whether a system can be implemented whereby even before they commence the actual work, somebody from LTA physically attends and ensures that adequate notice is given to oncoming vehicles. Because after an accident has taken place, it is no use worrying about what measures that were not in place.

Dr Balaji Sadasivan: Sir, I would agree with the Member that we want to prevent accidents. So, if the Member had come across situations that he thought were unsafe and had called the LTA, we would have checked.

Over the last six months, there has been no accident at any of the worksites. Of the 71 offences that were committed, because LTA audits the sites, they were all minor. Some offences were detected because members of the public called LTA, and LTA went down and noticed these minor infractions, fined the contractors, and the practices put right.

As to whether the COP is adequate, from an individual point of view, it is very hard to say. I, for example, was driving to work today and because of this question, I looked at all the signs at a construction site at the AYE. There were 10 signs. Usually, I see the first sign and I assume that there are road works, and I do not see all the other nine signs, but there were nine signs. In addition to that,

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there was another sign that says "Road Works Over". And to keep you happy, there is one more sign which says, "Have a Good Day" with a smile. Whether this is excessive or not, I do not know. I am not a safety engineer. The safety engineers in LTA go around. They look at standards around the world and they try to put best practices in place. If anyone knows of better practices than what our safety engineers in LTA know, I am sure they will consider it.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, anyone of us who drives on the road will know that there is always insufficient notice given of road works on our roads. We only get to see the notice at the actual worksite with some coloured cones put around it. That will be too late especially around the bend. Suddenly you turn the bend and you see road works ahead.

This early warning sign is fixed at 20 metres. I think 20 metres is too short. It must be at least 50 metres. When I drove in Germany ---

Mr Speaker: No speeches, Mr Chiam.

Mr Chiam See Tong: --- they give ample signs of road works. You can see flashing lights from 100 metres away, not 20 metres.

Mr Speaker: What is your question, Mr Chiam?

Mr Chiam See Tong: Is the Minister of State willing to alter the 20 metres to 50 metres?

Dr Balaji Sadasivan: Sir, I said 100 metres, not 20 metres.

Nevertheless, I would like to point out that safety depends on motorists too and at what speed they are driving. If you are on a German highway, you can drive at 140-180 km an hour, even at 200 km an hour. The stopping distance is much

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greater and the signs must be placed adequately early so that you are alerted about it. But if you are driving at 70 km per hour or 50 km per hour, depending on the restriction at that point, then our signs are adequate. So, if you find that it is not adequate, please check. Maybe you are travelling too fast!