Forum: Pair traffic enforcement with reset in driver education

Harsher penalties alone won’t fix bad driving habits (Imagine a Singapore where no one dies on the roads. We can do it, April 19).

I have driven and owned a car for over 40 years. At 70, I made the conscious decision to stop driving by not renewing my licence. 

Driving had become monotonous, and I was increasingly worried I might doze off from lapses in concentration, especially on relatively empty expressways during weekends. It was safer for everyone that I stopped. 

In my four decades on the road, I have seen driver behaviour go from bad to worse. Just in March, I witnessed a car on the PIE swerve across three lanes at high speed to avoid missing an exit, with no signalling, forcing others to brake hard. Tailgating, running amber lights and drivers staring at their phones at junctions have become commonplace. 

This is happening despite cameras at almost every major junction and heavier fines for errant motorists. If penalties and enforcement were enough, our roads would be safer by now. They are not. 

We need to pair enforcement with a reset in driver education – one that drills in defensive driving, patience and basic courtesy from day one – and sustain it with regular public campaigns. Otherwise, we are just “fining” the same bad habits year after year.

Perhaps send errant motorists back to the classroom to watch gory scenes of traffic accidents to wake up their senses and have them become better drivers.

Harry Ong Heng Poh