SINGAPORE: There have been several fatal accidents involving discretionary right-turn junctions in the past few years.
Discretionary right turns refer to right-turn movements at signalised junctions onto oncoming traffic without red-amber-green arrows.
In 2022, a Grab driver died after his car collided with a lorry in Ang Mo Kio while he was making a discretionary right turn. Another man was jailed for 10 weeks in July last year after causing the death of a police officer at a Shenton Way crossing while performing a discretionary right turn.
In April 2018, National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate Kathy Ong was killed after her taxi driver made a discretionary right turn at the cross junction of Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Road, and an oncoming car subsequently crashed into the cab.
During a 2019 parliamentary debate on amendments to the Road Traffic Act, MPs urged authorities to speed up the removal of discretionary right turns at all junctions, arguing that they were "fundamentally problematic".
Since 2018, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has implemented red-amber-green arrows at more than 1,200 traffic junctions, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said on Wednesday (May 8).
That number has exceeded the target that former Transport Minister S Iswaran mentioned in August 2022 for 1,200 junctions to have the arrow by the first quarter of 2024.
And there are plans for red-amber-green arrows at about 200 more junctions, subject to further site studies, Mr Chee added.
“This will further reduce the proportion of traffic junctions in Singapore that allow motorists to make discretionary right turns to less than 15 per cent of all signalised junctions, he said.
"Most of the remaining junctions are single-right turn lanes with only one lane of oncoming traffic, so the risks are lower."
Mr Chee was responding to questions from Member of Parliament (MP) Ang Wei Neng (PAP-West Coast), who had asked how many junctions in Singapore currently allow motorists to make discretionary right turns.
Mr Ang also asked for the number of reported accidents involving discretionary right turns in the last five years and how many such accidents had resulted in serious injuries.
Mr Chee said that between 2019 and 2023, there were about 2,700 reported accidents at junctions with discretionary right turns.
“Of these, 56 accidents resulted in fatalities, he added.
Calls to introduce more red-amber-green arrows at junctions gained traction after two fatal accidents involving discretionary right turns occurred in April 2018. One of them was Ms Ong, while another person was killed following vehicle collisions at the intersections of Upper Bukit Timah Road and Jalan Anak Bukit.
The accidents prompted LTA to review the traffic light scheme at such junctions.
LTA observed about a 40 per cent reduction in accidents involving right turns after implementing the existing arrows, Iswaran said in August 2022.
Road safety has been in the spotlight in parliament with a high-profile accident in Tampines that killed two people, including a teenage girl, last month prompting questions from MPs.
In response to questions from various MPs, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Tuesday it will not be increasing the penalties for dangerous driving for now.
Nevertheless, LTA will continue to review, develop and implement programmes to enhance road safety.
MP Murali Pillai (PAP-Bukit Batok) also suggested on Wednesday a proposal to construct motorcycle lanes on expressways, in light of the continued increase in motorcycle-related fatalities on such routes.
Last month, a 26-year-old motorcyclist was killed in an accident involving a lorry along the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), and in November 2023, a motorcyclist died after a man with schizophrenia jumped out of a minibus along the East Coast Parkway (ECP), causing an accident.
In February, the police said that motorcyclists and elderly pedestrians are the most vulnerable groups of road users, and continue to account for a disproportionate number of traffic accidents resulting in injuries or death.
While motorcycles only make up 14.4 per cent of the total vehicle population, motorcyclists or pillion riders were involved in 53.5 per cent of all traffic accidents and accounted for half of all traffic fatalities, they added.
"Compared to 2022, the number of fatal accidents in 2023 involving motorcyclists and elderly pedestrians increased by 44.0 per cent and 13.0 per cent respectively," the police said.
Addressing the concern raised by Mr Murali, Mr Chee said LTA has implemented engineering measures to improve the safety of motorcyclists and pillion riders.
These include the use of more skid resistant road surfaces, the implementation of wider and more prominent lane markings to encourage motorists to keep in lane, and the building of motorcycle rain shelters below flyovers.
However, “it is not feasible to construct motorcycle lanes on expressways given our land constraints, and also because many expressway sections are viaducts, flyovers and tunnels which are not wide enough to construct additional motorcycle lanes,” he said.
Mr Chee added that the government remains committed to improving the safety of motorcyclists, as well as other road users, and will continue to work on various initiatives and measure to enhance road safety.
“The LTA, Traffic Police (TP), and the Singapore Road Safety Council (SRSC) have various outreach activities to engage key stakeholder groups annually,” he said.
“This includes the Singapore Road Safety Month, and the Singapore Ride Safe Campaign, which encourage all road users to do their part in making our roads safe, and motorcyclists to practise safe riding habits.”
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Discretionary right turns refer to right-turn movements at signalised junctions onto oncoming traffic without red-amber-green arrows.
In 2022, a Grab driver died after his car collided with a lorry in Ang Mo Kio while he was making a discretionary right turn. Another man was jailed for 10 weeks in July last year after causing the death of a police officer at a Shenton Way crossing while performing a discretionary right turn.
In April 2018, National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate Kathy Ong was killed after her taxi driver made a discretionary right turn at the cross junction of Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Road, and an oncoming car subsequently crashed into the cab.
During a 2019 parliamentary debate on amendments to the Road Traffic Act, MPs urged authorities to speed up the removal of discretionary right turns at all junctions, arguing that they were "fundamentally problematic".
Since 2018, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has implemented red-amber-green arrows at more than 1,200 traffic junctions, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said on Wednesday (May 8).
That number has exceeded the target that former Transport Minister S Iswaran mentioned in August 2022 for 1,200 junctions to have the arrow by the first quarter of 2024.
And there are plans for red-amber-green arrows at about 200 more junctions, subject to further site studies, Mr Chee added.
“This will further reduce the proportion of traffic junctions in Singapore that allow motorists to make discretionary right turns to less than 15 per cent of all signalised junctions, he said.
"Most of the remaining junctions are single-right turn lanes with only one lane of oncoming traffic, so the risks are lower."
Mr Chee was responding to questions from Member of Parliament (MP) Ang Wei Neng (PAP-West Coast), who had asked how many junctions in Singapore currently allow motorists to make discretionary right turns.
Mr Ang also asked for the number of reported accidents involving discretionary right turns in the last five years and how many such accidents had resulted in serious injuries.
Mr Chee said that between 2019 and 2023, there were about 2,700 reported accidents at junctions with discretionary right turns.
“Of these, 56 accidents resulted in fatalities, he added.
Calls to introduce more red-amber-green arrows at junctions gained traction after two fatal accidents involving discretionary right turns occurred in April 2018. One of them was Ms Ong, while another person was killed following vehicle collisions at the intersections of Upper Bukit Timah Road and Jalan Anak Bukit.
The accidents prompted LTA to review the traffic light scheme at such junctions.
LTA observed about a 40 per cent reduction in accidents involving right turns after implementing the existing arrows, Iswaran said in August 2022.
Related:
Road safety has been in the spotlight in parliament with a high-profile accident in Tampines that killed two people, including a teenage girl, last month prompting questions from MPs.
In response to questions from various MPs, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Tuesday it will not be increasing the penalties for dangerous driving for now.
Nevertheless, LTA will continue to review, develop and implement programmes to enhance road safety.
MOTORCYCLE LANES "NOT FEASIBLE"
MP Murali Pillai (PAP-Bukit Batok) also suggested on Wednesday a proposal to construct motorcycle lanes on expressways, in light of the continued increase in motorcycle-related fatalities on such routes.
Last month, a 26-year-old motorcyclist was killed in an accident involving a lorry along the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), and in November 2023, a motorcyclist died after a man with schizophrenia jumped out of a minibus along the East Coast Parkway (ECP), causing an accident.
In February, the police said that motorcyclists and elderly pedestrians are the most vulnerable groups of road users, and continue to account for a disproportionate number of traffic accidents resulting in injuries or death.
While motorcycles only make up 14.4 per cent of the total vehicle population, motorcyclists or pillion riders were involved in 53.5 per cent of all traffic accidents and accounted for half of all traffic fatalities, they added.
"Compared to 2022, the number of fatal accidents in 2023 involving motorcyclists and elderly pedestrians increased by 44.0 per cent and 13.0 per cent respectively," the police said.
Addressing the concern raised by Mr Murali, Mr Chee said LTA has implemented engineering measures to improve the safety of motorcyclists and pillion riders.
These include the use of more skid resistant road surfaces, the implementation of wider and more prominent lane markings to encourage motorists to keep in lane, and the building of motorcycle rain shelters below flyovers.
However, “it is not feasible to construct motorcycle lanes on expressways given our land constraints, and also because many expressway sections are viaducts, flyovers and tunnels which are not wide enough to construct additional motorcycle lanes,” he said.
Mr Chee added that the government remains committed to improving the safety of motorcyclists, as well as other road users, and will continue to work on various initiatives and measure to enhance road safety.
“The LTA, Traffic Police (TP), and the Singapore Road Safety Council (SRSC) have various outreach activities to engage key stakeholder groups annually,” he said.
“This includes the Singapore Road Safety Month, and the Singapore Ride Safe Campaign, which encourage all road users to do their part in making our roads safe, and motorcyclists to practise safe riding habits.”
Continue reading...