Traffic police launches mobile speed cameras to tackle new problem areas

SINGAPORE — With the roll-out of cameras to catch those who beat the red light, and speeding motorists showing promising results in reducing violations, the Traffic Police is introducing new mobile speed cameras this month that are battery-operated and can be deployed within a week, to better tackle “emerging” problem areas.

This was shared at the release of the Traffic Police's annual traffic situation report today (Feb 16), which showed that while the number of fatalities resulting from road accidents dipped in 2015 from the year before, the number of injury accidents rose, with accidents involving the elderly, and motorcyclists and pillion riders, being two areas of concern.

Figures from the Traffic Police showed that after the introduction of the 240 red light cameras and 20 digital speed cameras in 2014 and last year respectively, the number of “red-running” violations fell by 27.2 per cent to 28,507, from 39,168 in 2014.

The number of speedsters caught on these digital speed cameras dropped by 70.96 per cent last year within nine months after they were installed — there were nine nabbed daily in December, compared to 31 a day in March.

Assistant Commissioner Sam Tee of the Traffic Police, speaking at a press conference, noted that the cameras “contributed in quite a significant way” in reducing the number of traffic offenders.

The colourfully painted mobile speed cameras, which complement current enforcement efforts, are able to operate around the clock, even during inclement weather. These cameras also have enhanced capabilities to better identify speeding vehicles.

“Those visual signs go a long way to reinforce the safety culture,” he added. “We have plans to deploy more and we are still looking at it.”

The Traffic Police has procured three mobile speed cameras and plans to get more.

Yesterday, one such camera was deployed at Seletar Link where the Traffic Police has “detected quite a fair bit of illegal racing and dangerous driving”, he added.

Assistant Commissioner Sam Tee explaining why mobile speed cameras are better than fixed cameras.

Overall, statistics showed an improved situation in the road traffic situation last year, with deaths on the roads falling from 155 in 2014 to 152 last year.

Fatal accidents also dipped from 150 in 2014 to 149 last year.

However, the number of injury accidents last year rose slightly, from 7,809 cases in 2014 to 8,021 last year.

Motorcyclists and pillion riders contributed to the overall rise in injury accidents.

The common causes of fatal and injury accidents involving this group included failing to keep a proper lookout, and failing to give way to traffic with right of way, the Traffic Police said.

Separately, more elderly pedestrians were involved in traffic accidents last year, although the number of those killed on the road fell from 26 in 2014 to 23 last year.

Accidents involving elderly pedestrians increased by 8.8 per cent to 211 last year, with more than a quarter of the cases involving jaywalking.

The Traffic Police plans to engage and reach out to more senior citizens to highlight the dangers of jaywalking and raise awareness on what they can do to stay safe on the roads.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency (GRC), noted that educating the elderly on road safety has to be a “continued process”, as the“message sort of gets diluted and people forget about it” after a “one-off event”.

Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng felt that there should be “one-to-one interactions” with the elderly to raise awareness of road safety. These interactions can be done by the MPs when they conduct house visits, he added.

Separately, the Traffic Police plans to reach out to foreign motorcyclists for the first time to promote safer interaction among road users.

Yesterday, a billboard was put up at Tuas Checkpoint to serve as a reminder to motorcyclists coming to Singapore. Another billboard will be put up at Woodlands Checkpoint later.

The billboards, which will feature three rotating displays with relevant road safety messages, will serve as a “powerful” reminder for motorcyclists to be more safety conscious when they enter Singapore, Assistant Commissioner Tee said.