The Annual Road Traffic Situation 2016 reports that, there were 140 fatal accidents in 2016, and 151 fatal accidents in 2015.
The number of fatalities fell from 151 in 2015 to 140 in 2016. Although statistic shows signs of improvement, no one should be rejoicing over his as it is a matter of life and death.So here are probably 8 things to keep in mind being a driver so as to keep the fatalities rate down and our road safer for everyone!
Fatigue
Singapore is known for being the most expensive city to live in in 2017. So it comes to no surprise that the number of hours an average Singaporean works a week is 45.6. Second only to Hong kong which clocks in at 47 hours a week. If you are tired or feeling sleepy, do not drive! Change your mode of travel for the day, where public transport is much more accessible in Singapore. Grab or Uber can bring you home as simple as a touch of a screen.
Text Driving
How many of you out there are guilty of this. Experiments were done and studies has shown that a legally drunk driver traveling at a speed of 110km/h has a stopping distance of 1.2m. Reading a text message increases the distance by 11m. And replying to that message increases it by a further 21m. Because of the seriousness of this matter, the Singapore government has placed a law that it will be illegal for drivers to hold any mobile devices while the vehicle is moving. Previously the offence applies only to texting or calling.
Hands free
8 out of 10 singaporeans use their phone while driving. A survey conducted shows 83% of drivers in Singapore admitting to using their handphone while driving on the road. As technology advances, capable of gluing us to our mobile gadgets, it is sometimes good to know that multitasking while driving is definitely not such a good idea. Airplane mode your phone whilst driving or investing in a bluetooth is always a better choice. And this applies to pedestrians too.
Speeding
Yes, we Singaporeans are always very busy, often too little time for everything. This often gives the driver a reason to speed. Speeding has been known to be the top cause for auto accidents around the world. So please be considerate to other road users too. And although you are not a speeding driver, a three second rule can be applied by you on the road to prevent speeding accidents from occurring. Do your due diligence everybody!
Tailgating
Road hoggers. Yes, definitely a handful on the roads. Although it may be irritating to be stuck behind a road hogger, please remember that road hogging is not an offence. Tailgating someone can only prove that you lost in a battle of patience. And with in-car camera, a common gadget in Singapore’s vehicle, your action recorded might be labelled as a road bully! It is always nice to signal or if you really have to, overtake by the left safely.
Drink Driving
With so little things to do in Singapore, most Singaporean spend their after work hours catching up on dinner or gathering with friends. This is normally accompanied with alcohol. How many times do you hear someone telling you ‘one glass only’? It has been reported that an average roadblock a day, at different locations is recorded to be 4. With 6-7 roadblock setups happening during weekends in this small city state. The penalty being caught for drink driving is an immediate disqualification of the license. A minimum suspension of 12 months and above. Definitely not worth the risk. So if you know you will be drinking, please Grab or Uber home, or you can even call a valet back. Do not drink and drive!
Drive without seat belts
Why wear seat belts? Most will argue that it is only a short distance. It is so near, why bother. Most recent cars comes with a safety feature. That should your seatbelt not be worn, a warning sound will sound through your journey. But this feature has not deter drivers from still not fastening their seat belts. As replacement belts are easily sold, bought by drivers so as to not allow the warning sound to activate whilst not putting their belts on. With the number of fatal accidents in Singapore, how many lives could have been saved or deaths prevented if seat belts is worn?
Ignoring your Blind Spots
How many times have you seen videos being passed around, showing traffic accidents happening just because the driver did not check their blind spots. The ending is always similar. Horrific crashes, sometimes ending in death to an innocent road user. Singapore government always carry out Road safety campaigns. So let us all make the roads a safer place for everyone! Every life matters!
Brought To You By Wearnes Automotive Leasing
