Traffic Police begin enforcement against heavy vehicles without speed limiters
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An officer from the Traffic Police Special Operations Team carrying out checks on a lorry during an enforcement operation in Hougang on Jan 16.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Follow topic:
- Traffic Police are actively enforcing speed limiter installation on lorries, following a Jan 1 deadline where 141 owners failed to comply.
- Speed limiters, costing around $900, restrict engines to 60kmh, improving road safety; about 17,000 lorries must install them by July 2027.
- Penalties for non-compliance may increase to $10,000 for first offences and $20,000 for repeat offences, under a proposed law change.
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SINGAPORE – The two officers from the Traffic Police (TP) Special Operations Team waited patiently at 5.30am on Jan 16 for workers to unload goods from a lorry.
Once the white lorry moved off from a carpark in Hougang, the pair on their motorcycles – with blinkers switched on – sped up and signalled to the lorry driver to follow them to a nearby carpark. Their mission was to check if the lorry had a speed limiter.
The lorry driver, who was making his rounds to deliver canned drinks and dried foodstuff, presented his documents to the officers. The vehicle was found to have a speed limiter and was released by the Traffic Police about 20 minutes later.
At another location, a similar check was being done on another heavy vehicle.
The tough enforcement action comes after the police said on Jan 9 that the owners of 141 lorries had failed to install speed limiters by their batch’s Jan 1 deadline
On Jan 17, TP said three lorries were found to be non-compliant during its enforcement operation on Jan 16 and 17. It added that appropriate action will be taken against the owners.
Traffic Police Special Operations Team officer checking a lorry for a speed limiter label during an enforcement operation in Hougang on Jan 16.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
The deputy commanding officer in charge of TP’s patrol unit, Superintendent Lee Jin, said TP had sent repeated reminders to lorry owners to install speed limiters.
He added: “Enforcement operations are ongoing to locate these lorries. We will not hesitate to take action against lorry owners for failing to install the speed limiters by their mandatory deadline.”
The deputy commanding officer in charge of TP’s patrol unit, Superintendent Lee Jin, said TP had sent repeated reminders to lorry owners to install speed limiters.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
A speed limiter, which costs around $900, is a device that restricts vehicle engines to a maximum speed of 60kmh.
Companies with heavy vehicles with a maximum laden weight (MLW) of between 3,501kg and 12,000kg began installing speed limiters on those vehicles from January 2024. They were given two to three years to do so.
About 17,000 eligible lorries are required to have the speed limiters installed by July 2027. The first batch of heavy vehicles, with an MLW of between 5,001kg and 12,000kg and registered before Jan 1, 2018, had to have the limiters installed by Jan 1, 2026.
In the next phase of the exercise, lorries registered before 2018 with an MLW of between 3,501kg and 5,000kg must have speed limiters installed by July 1, 2026. Their owners are strongly encouraged to do so before the deadline.
Construction company owner Mohd Salman finds it baffling that some heavy vehicle owners have ignored the reminders to install speed limiters.
Said Mr Salman, 55: “We depend on our lorries and heavy vehicles for daily operations. If the vehicle is not used and remains parked, then our business will be greatly affected. It makes no sense to not abide by the new rules if you want to stay in business.”
Officers from the TP Special Operations Team waiting to conduct checks on heavy vehicles in Hougang on Jan 16.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
While it is not known why some lorries have yet to have speed limiters installed, Mr Dave Ng, chairman of the Singapore Logistics Association, suggested several possible reasons.
Said Mr Ng: “It is plausible that a portion of these vehicles have not had speed limiters installed because their owners intend to scrap or deregister them, especially in the current environment of very high COE (certificate of entitlement) prices.
“However, the reasons are likely to be a combination of end-of-life planning, cost, operational constraints and practical implementation challenges.”
In the latest COE bidding exercise
But soon, it would make less sense to flout the rules on speed limiters.
On Jan 12, tougher penalties for those who do so were among changes proposed
At present, lorry owners who fail to install speed limiters can be fined up to $1,000 for their first offence and up to $2,000 for repeat offences.
If the Bill is passed, the maximum fine for such offences will be $10,000 for a first offence and $20,000 for a second, 10 times the current penalties.
The changes will be debated by Parliament in February.
