Injuries, deaths on Singapore’s roads rise in H1 2025; accidents due to red-light violations also up
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There were 78 fatal accidents from January to June, up from 70 in the first half of 2024.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
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- Road accidents in Singapore rose in the first six months of 2025, with fatalities increasing to 79 and injuries to 4,860, which the Traffic Police (TP) is concerned about.
- Speeding jumped 45.5% to 118,076 cases, despite enforcement, and traffic violations like illegal U-turns will be monitored by new cameras.
- Elderly pedestrian fatalities rose 150% and motorcycle accidents increased, prompting calls for road safety and enhanced helmet standards.
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SINGAPORE – More people were killed or injured in road traffic accidents in the first half of 2025, compared with the same period a year ago.
There were 78 fatal accidents from January to June, up from 70 in the first half of 2024, with the number of deaths rising from 72 to 79.
The number of accidents resulting in injuries also increased from 3,437 in the first half of 2024 to 3,740 in the first six months of 2025. This led to 4,860 injured people, up from 4,665 the year before.
Releasing these figures in their mid-year report, the Traffic Police (TP) said that road traffic accidents and casualties have been increasing over the past three years.
The number of people killed and injured in traffic accidents hit a five-year high in 2024.
TP said they are concerned about road accident trends and have stepped up enforcement efforts.
New traffic violation enforcement cameras, painted in orange and white, will be tested and rolled out islandwide over the coming months.
These cameras will capture technical traffic violations, including illegal U-turns as well as crossing double white lines, which TP said could lead to serious accidents.
Accidents due to red light-running violations increased from 47 in the first half of 2024 to 65 over the same period in 2025.
This contributed to four fatal crashes, down from five the year before.
However, red light-running violations fell by 25.3 per cent from 17,508 in the first half of 2024 to 13,073 in the first six months of 2025.
On May 28, a 20-year-old motorcyclist died
“The Traffic Police will not let up on enforcement efforts to deter such dangerous and irresponsible behaviour,” TP said in the report.
Other fatal accidents in 2025 included a crash on May 13, where a 28-year-old female passenger in a car died in a collision with a bus in Punggol Road
Police found vapes and vape pods in the car.
Etomidate, an anaesthetic agent found in vapes here that will be reclassified as a drug from Sept 1, was later detected in the passenger and the driver’s blood samples.
Spike in speeding violations
Speeding violations jumped by 45.5 per cent from 81,141 in the first half of 2024 to 118,076 cases in the first half of 2025.
The fastest offender caught in 2025 was hurtling down the AYE at 178kmh, more than double the speed limit of 80kmh.
The spike in violations came after TP started enhanced enforcement operations and activating the speed enforcement function in more red-light cameras.
Speeding-related accidents fell from 269 to 236 cases in the same period as enforcement action went up, while fatal accidents linked to speeding fell from 25 to 15.
Motorists caught speeding will receive heavier penalties
TP urged companies to install speed limiters in their lorries ahead of the 2026 deadline. The device caps the speed of such vehicles at 60kmh.
As at Aug 16, TP said 40.5 per cent of lorries under these requirements have installed the devices.
Lorries that were fitted with the device recorded almost zero speeding violations in the first half of 2025.
In comparison, there were 641 violations recorded for lorries without the device in the same period – a 13.5 per cent increase from 565 violations for the first six months of 2024.
Drink driving-related accidents also decreased from 92 to 75 cases, with fatal crashes linked to drink driving falling from nine to four in the first six months of 2025.
The number of people arrested for drink driving went up from 818 to 862 in the same period.
Elderly pedestrians at risk
Of those who died from road traffic accidents in the first half of 2025, 15 were elderly pedestrians.
This was a significant spike of 150 per cent compared with six such pedestrians in the same period in 2024.
The number of elderly pedestrians injured in accidents also went up from 92 in the first six months of 2024 to 101 in 2025.
TP said about 43 per cent of all accidents involving elderly pedestrians were due to jaywalking.
“While TP will continue with public education efforts for the elderly, we need family members, caregivers and friends to support our efforts by constantly reminding them of road safety messages, particularly on the dangers of jaywalking,” said TP.
The number of accidents involving motorcyclists went up by 9.5 per cent to 2,088 in the first half of 2025, compared with 1,907 in the first six months of 2024.
TP said motorcyclists and pillion riders continue to be disproportionately represented in traffic fatalities.
To enhance the safety of those on motorcycles, TP said there will be changes to motorcycle helmet standards in line with international best practices, along with streamlining helmet testing and certification processes.
