Proposed changes to traffic rules to prevent offenders from being overly punished

Road users who cause accidents leading to death or serious injuries will face the full force of the law and can be handed maximum jail sentences.

- Samuel Devaraj

To prevent less egregious offenders from being overly punished, as other road users might have also contributed to the accident, changes in the traffic rules are being proposed.

This will allow the courts to have more discretion in sentencing these offenders.

To achieve this, the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill was introduced in Parliament on Nov 11.

One of the proposed changes is the removal of mandatory minimum sentences for first-time offenders who commit dangerous driving offences that cause grievous hurt or death, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press statement.

Currently, these offences have mandatory minimum sentences of one to two years.

These will be removed, with the maximum penalties remaining at five years' jail for causing grievous hurt and eight years' jail for causing death.

The mandatory minimum disqualification periods - currently between five and 10 years - will also be removed.

MHA gave the example of a taxi driver who ran a red light at a T-junction in Bukit Batok West and collided with an oncoming car that had the right of way.

The victim sustained neck and shoulder pain, with numbness in half of his body. He was given 25 days of medical leave and made a full recovery.

MHA said while this was considered "grievous hurt" due to the victim receiving at least 20 days of medical leave, the overall injury was not severe.