Instead of taxing the Traffic Police with more patrols and setting up of roadblocks, other methods of enforcement and prevention could be adopted.

As the number of vehicles on our roads increases, it is going to become impossible for the Traffic Police to be everywhere, all the time.

Despite heavy fines and the threat of demerit points, many drivers still modify their vehicles and speed recklessly, especially through the smaller roads.

Revoking a licence, unfortunately, does not mean a driver is not going to drive anymore. The penalties for drink-driving, driving without a licence and excessive speeding could be increased substantially so as to deter such offences. Driving after having a licence revoked should carry a mandatory caning penalty.

Money could be invested in providing video surveillance of Singapore's roads, implemented in stages, starting with the more accident-prone areas. Footage from these cameras should be made easily available to the Traffic Police to use when investigating any complaint.

Additionally, an online portal could be set up for motorists to register complaints of reckless, aggressive or inconsiderate driving by other motorists. This would alert the Traffic Police about drivers who regularly practise dangerous driving habits. The Traffic Police could be empowered to act against owners of vehicle plates that frequently draw complaints.

The Traffic Police should not be required to announce their presence when conducting operations, as this means speedsters will only slow down when they see flashing lights up ahead. Roadblocks could be carried out on more roads, as most drivers already have a general idea of which roads to avoid when driving after consuming alcohol.

The recruitment of Traffic Police Officers could be increased significantly to provide the department with the manpower it needs to conduct thorough investigations quickly and to have the manpower available to investigate even minor complaints.

Although some of these measures will be substantially expensive to implement, as long as they help to being down the number of fatalities on our roads, it will be money well spent. I hope the relevant authorities will consider these suggestions seriously.

Girish Gopinadhan Pillai