SINGAPORE — Fewer motorists were caught for speeding and running red lights after the authorities installed new digital cameras to clamp down on traffic offences, statistics for the first six months of this year released by the Traffic Police (TP) today (July 15) show.

On average, the number of these “red-running” violations captured by each digital traffic red light system camera each month fell by 83.5 per cent — from 115 in March last year to 19 in June this year.

The number of speedsters caught on these digital speed enforcement cameras also dropped by 61.3 per cent within three months — there were 31 per day in March, versus 12 in June.

The TP’s records painted an improved road safety situation for January to June, compared to the same period last year, with fewer traffic fatalities and drink-driving cases. 

Deaths on the roads fell 12.4 per cent, from 89 to 78. Four of these involved drink-drivers, compared to 11 last year. The police arrested 1,258 persons for drink-driving, a 15.9 per cent drop from 1,495 last year.

But there were more injuries from road traffic accidents — 5,059 persons were hurt in crashes in the first six months, 8.4 per cent higher than the 4,667 in the same period last year.

Motorcyclists and elderly pedestrians were flagged by the TP as vulnerable road-users. Those on two-wheelers formed almost half of those who got hurt on the roads from last year till June this year. 

For the first half of this year, they made up 2,078, or 41.1 per cent of road traffic injuries, a rate comparable to 2014’s first six months.

In comparison, 85 seniors were injured in traffic accidents, roughly the same from last year.

From September, the TP will be engaging motorcyclists and other road-users in dialogue sessions to better understand their concerns about road safety. The talks are also aimed at understanding the interactions between motorcyclists and other road-users, such as cars and heavy vehicles on the roads.

To better protect elderly road-users, the TP said it will step up engagement efforts to raise their awareness of road safety. Meanwhile, the Traffic Police has partnered the Singapore Road Safety Council (SRSC) and Shell Singapore to recognise good road safety behaviour. 

Licence-holders with a clean driving or riding record for at least the last five years — zero demerit points from June 2010 to June this year — will receive a letter of commendation from the Traffic Police starting tomorrow.

Separately, the TP will also be partnering ComfortDelGro on a trial where the locations of the speed and red light cameras are shown on the Mobile Data Terminals of taxis. The three-month trial will start in October.