Forum: Start putting the brakes on speeding now, not later
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Recently, I came across an Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System (EMAS) message on the CTE just before the Ang Mo Kio exit that read: “Heavier speeding penalties starting 2026. Watch your speed.”
As a motorist, I find the message puzzling. It does little to highlight the immediate dangers of speeding. It seems to suggest that motorists need worry about heavier penalties for speeding only at a later date.
Statistics have identified speeding as a persistent problem and it remains one of the main causes of accidents on our roads. Thus, delaying tougher penalties when the problem can be nipped in the bud is counter-intuitive. Speeding must be reined in immediately.
Penalties for speeding offences are already hefty today. What we need is stringent enforcement to get motorists to keep within speed limits at all times rather than later.
Besides speeding, EMAS messaging will be better served if it also includes real-time situational warnings, like wet roads, where braking distance may be compromised, reduced visibility, or heavy traffic.
I am glad the Land Transport Authority is already reining in speeding, but more can be done.
Ho San Cheow
