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KEY AREAS OF CONCERN
Motorcyclists and Pillion Riders Fatalities
Although
there were 18 fewer total fatalities for 2004 as compared to
2003, motorcyclists and pillion riders remain the most
vulnerable group of road users. They comprised 48.5% of the
194 total road accident fatalities recorded last year, as
compared to 44.4% of the 212 total road accident fatalities in
2003.
NO. OF
FATALITIES BY ROAD USER GROUPS, 2003 & 2004
|
|
Road User
Groups |
2003 |
2004 |
Difference |
|
Motorcyclists & Pillion Riders |
94 |
94 |
0 (0.0%) |
|
Motorcar Drivers and
Passengers |
27 |
24 |
-3 (-11.1%) |
|
Pedestrians |
64 |
45 |
-19 (-29.7%) |
|
Pedal Cyclists |
17 |
17 |
0 (0.0%) |
|
Others3
(including Bus Passengers/Drivers, Heavy and Light Goods
Vehicles Drivers and Passengers) |
10 |
14 |
+4 (40.0%) |
Last
year, single-party fatal accident cases where the motorist
failed to have proper control of his vehicle went down from 42
cases to 32 cases for motorcyclists.
Fewer
younger riders were killed in accidents last year. In 2004, 38
motorcyclists aged below 30 were killed. This is lower
compared with 44 motorcyclists in the same age group killed in
2003, a drop of 6 fatalities, or 13.6%.
|
NO. OF MOTORCYCLISTS
KILLED IN ACCIDENTS
BY AGE GROUP, 2003 & 2004 |
|
Age Group |
2003 |
2004 |
|
<= 19 |
4 |
3 |
|
20 - 29 |
40 |
35 |
|
30 - 39 |
12 |
14 |
|
40 - 49 |
6 |
11 |
|
50 - 59 |
10 |
7 |
|
>= 60 |
7 |
9 |
|
Total |
79 |
79 |
Pedestrian Fatalities
Pedestrians
remain the second most vulnerable group of road users last
year. Pedestrians made up 23.2% of the 194 total fatalities
recorded last year as compared to 30.2% in 2003. The number of
pedestrians killed in 2004 dropped by 29.5%, from 64
pedestrian fatalities in 2004 to 45 in 2004.
Among the
45 pedestrians killed, elderly pedestrians4 were a
concern. They made up 44.4% of pedestrians killed in road
accidents.
|
PEDESTRIANS
FATALITIES BREAKDOWN
BY AGE GROUP, 2003 & 2004 |
|
Age Group |
2003 |
2004 |
|
<= 19 |
5 |
4 |
|
20 - 29 |
3 |
5 |
|
30 - 39 |
5 |
6 |
|
40 - 49 |
9 |
2 |
|
50 - 59 |
8 |
8 |
|
>= 60 |
34 |
20 |
|
Total |
64 |
45 |
Handphone Driving
22 The
number of summonses issued for handphone driving increased by
66.7% from 1103 in 2003 to 1839 in 2004.
3 Others
include pedal cyclists, light goods vehicle drivers/
passengers, heavy goods vehicle drivers/passengers and bus
driver/passengers.
4 60
years old and above. |
|
| |
|
|
MEASURES TO ADDRESS SAFETY OF ROAD
USERS, ESPECIALLY MOTORCYCLISTS, PILLION RIDERS AND ELDERLY
PEDESTRIANS
Traffic Police recognise that good road safety education goes
a long way in ensuring that our roads are safer for all. Our
road safety public education efforts include annual publicity
campaigns and major events like the Road Safety Outreach, Road
Courtesy Campaigns, Shell Traffic Games and Anti-Drink Drive
Campaign. These campaigns are actively publicised through
various media channels like television, radio, press and
outdoor advertisements.
The Traffic
Police also conduct road safety talks and exhibitions to
schools, companies and government organisations. About 120
talks and exhibitions were conducted last year to reach out to
the public.
There are
also specialised education efforts targeted at specific
categories of road users, which Traffic Police will continue
to organise:
|
a |
Motorcyclists
For example, there are customised road safety campaigns
targeted at motorcyclists through TV commercials,
advertisements in newspapers, on buses, taxis, outdoor
banners and billboards. We have conducted 99 talks and
exhibitions in 2004. |
|
b |
Cyclists
We also have regular
road safety talks and exhibitions targeting cyclists as an
integral part of our road safety outreach programme. These
talks and exhibitions cover safe cycling tips, such as
wearing of protective gear, taking extra care when
approaching road junctions, and using proper hand signals.
Tips are also provided to cyclists on how to enhance their
visibility to other road users. |
|
c |
Pedestrians
For pedestrians, there
were 26 sessions of road safety talks organised which
reached out to more than 15,000 pedestrians in 2004. In
addition, there were also 72 exhibitions held specifically
for pedestrians. |
|
d |
Children
The Traffic
Police also train about 50,000 primary 5 students every
year at the Road Safety Community Park where they are
taught the traffic rules and road safety behaviour as
drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Recently, the Traffic
Police also partnered with automotive giant,
DaimlerChrysler, to introduce the ‘MobileKids’ program
that aims to bring interactive road safety education to
all primary schools. MobileKids which started on 1st
January this year, would be set up at every primary school
for 1 week each to allow students of all levels to
participate. MobileKids will complement the Road Safety
Community Park by equipping our children with the
soft-skills to employ their hearing and sight senses in
using our roads safely. |
|
e |
Senior Citizens
For senior citizens,
besides using customised brochures and road safety
handbooks, organisations like the Singapore Action Group
of Elders, and the various grassroots are also engaged to
reach out to our senior citizens through road safety talks
held during community events.
“Rediffusion”, a
favourite entertainment medium among the senior citizens,
is also used to reach out to more than 10,000 households
through road safety skits in Cantonese and Hokkien. On top
of this, we have also trained more than 3000 senior
citizens as our Road Safety Ambassadors to educate their
peers on road safety during informal chit-chat sessions.
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|
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|
|
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CONCLUSION
On
the whole, the traffic situation in Singapore for 2004 remained
good. We will continue to leverage on the three-pronged approach -
enforcement, education and legislation. However, education can
only work if people are receptive to the messages. There are still
road users who have heard our messages but are not heeding the
advice.
We urge the public to exercise
self responsibility when using the roads. Motorists should give
way to vulnerable groups of road users such as motorcyclists,
pedestrians and the elderly. With the commitment of all road
users, we can make our roads even safer.
Source:
Ministry of Home Affairs News
Release 11 Mar 2005
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Previous FrontPage Edition 23 Mar
2005
