SINGAPORE - The Traffic Police (TP) have a new digital speed trap. Called the Mobile Speed Camera (MSC), the bright orange cameras are equipped with their own power source and can be deployed anywhere within a week.
The cameras are part of a new targeted approach to curb the scourge of speeding.
They will be used from this month at places where motorists speed, where accidents happen and where illegal races are held.
This was revealed on Tuesday (Feb 16) when the TP released its annual traffic statistics.
The move comes on the heel of a drastic drop in speeding and red-light running which the TP attributed to the introduction of digital red light cameras and speed traps, which can run round-the-clock and eliminates the need to retrieve film negatives.
In 2014, there were 223 accidents due to red-light running. This fell to 169 last year.
The number of speeding-related accidents also dropped to 1,197 last year, from 1,363 the year before.
As of September last year, there were 150 digital red-light cameras on the road. About 20 digital speed traps were also installed last year.
The roads here have generally become safer, said the TP, noting a fall in road deaths and drink driving accidents.
A total of 152 people died on the roads last year, down from 155 in 2014 - a continuation of a downward trend that has persisted for the last five years.
Drink-driving accidents also fell by over a quarter last year. The number went to 134 from 182 in 2014.
However, there were increases in the number of injury accidents and accidents involving the elderly.
Last year, there were 8,021 injury accidents, up 2.7 per cent from 7,809 cases in 2014.
Accidents involving elderly pedestrians rose by 8.8 per cent to 211 last year, from 194 the year before.
"In 2015, we saw an encouraging improvement in the road traffic situation, with a continued decline in road fatalities," said the TP commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Sam Tee.
"More motorists are obeying red-light signals and speed limits, and we would like to thank these conscientious motorists for playing their part in keeping our roads safe."
