If the authorities tasked with curbing the vehicle population in Singapore are serious, then they should start by taking a leaf out of the book of the Japanese authorities, and have owners prove that they have a place to properly park their vehicles.

Putting a limit on certificates of entitlement will still leave the roads as congested as before, and serve only to drastically increase the cost of motoring.

A visit to the suburbs, where landed properties generally are, shows the true nature of the problem, with people fighting for public spaces outside their houses to park their cars because they already have another car in their driveway.

In many cases, people are placing objects outside their houses to "chope" such areas.

This is not only unregulated, but also presents a danger to other road users.

The Singapore authorities should learn from cities that have already faced these problems, and then take action accordingly.

James Killingsworth