3-year road study reveals dramatic drop in road deaths, more gracious road users

Singaporeans have become more courteous on the roads but still exhibit bad behaviour. This is according to a statement made by the Minister of State, Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim.

He delivered a speech on Oct 12, 2021 at the Use Your RoadSense Virtual Show 2021, detailing the trends of Singapore's roads in their RoadSense Index update. Some key statistics include the dramatic reduction in road deaths as compared to the same time period a decade ago; in 2010, road deaths were at 193, and in 2020, 85.

This is partially due to the effects of the pandemic, but also as a result of the measures the Traffic Police (TP) has implemented.

As part of this research, which has been running since 2019, the TP interviewed 500 people, across 10 different road user groups - Cyclists, Motorcyclists, Heavy Vehicle Drivers, Elderly Pedestrians, General Pedestrians, Car Drivers, Courier and Delivery Drivers, Taxi and Private Hire Drivers, Power Assisted Bicycle (PAB) Users and Parents of Young Children.

Pedestrians are more likely to view themselves as more polite and gracious, using terms such as "impatient", "aggressive", "discourteous" and "entitled" to describe other road users.

It is also noted that a higher proportion of vulnerable road users, such as the elderly, have been observed taking part in unsafe road behaviour. Examples include jaywalking and drink-driving, with the latter resulting in a number of fatalities as a result. This, he adds, is a "serious cause for concern".

Road users are advised to use designated zebra crossings, and the elderly can also use their concession cards for extra crossing time. But all is not bad though - some encouraging trends have been observed.

These include slowing down and stopping at zebra crossings and cyclists keeping left and giving way to pedestrians.

"These are encouraging improvements and a reminder to all of us to observe and extend road courtesy." He adds.

The TP will continue its efforts to engage the public on road safety and graciousness. They also reinforce that every road user has a part to play in making Singapore's roads safer.

"If there is one thing this pandemic has taught us, it is to be kinder and more compassionate to each other. I hope we can extend that to our roads too".

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This article was first published in Motorist.