Traffic Police concerned by low take-up; call to prioritise lorries used to transport workers

Traffic Police concerned by low take-up; call to prioritise lorries used to transport workers

- Vanessa Paige Chelvan

The authorities can prioritise lorries used to transport workers when it comes to the installation of speed limiters, as only around 50 lorries out of thousands on the road have been fitted with them so far.

This was a suggestion made by Mr Lim Kian Chin, chairman of the Singapore Transport Association (STA), to boost the low installation rate of speed limiters, which are required for lorries with a maximum laden weight (MLW) of between 3,501kg and 12,000kg.

Speed limiters ensure that these vehicles do not exceed a speed limit of 60kmh.

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam told Parliament on Jan 7 that as at end-2024, only around 50 lorries have completed the installation of speed limiters.

In response to queries, the Traffic Police (TP) said that as at end-2024, there were about 17,000 eligible lorries which are required to install speed limiters.

This means that speed limiters have been installed in less than 1 per cent of eligible lorries.

TP, which started the installation of speed limiters for eligible lorries in January 2024, "is concerned by the low installation rate", Mr Shanmugam said in a written reply.

He was responding to a question from Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng, who had asked what percentage of lorries that require a speed limiter to be installed have done so.

Speaking to The Straits Times, Mr Ng said it was "disappointing" that only 50 lorries have met this requirement.

"It is quite a while more before it becomes mandatory (from 2026),", he said. In the meantime, "the lives and limbs of hundreds and thousands of workers" are at risk.