THE number of motorists being taken to task for not giving way
to emergency vehicles is on the rise.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said there were 24 such
cases in the first six months of this year - 10 more than in the
same period last year.
Since 2002, SCDF ambulances and fire engines have been equipped
with video cameras that can capture images of vehicles whose
drivers refuse to give way. The footage is submitted to the Traffic
Police for investigations.
The SCDF said that while the number of irresponsible drivers is
not critically high, the situation can be improved.
'As every second counts during emergencies, it is important that
SCDF resources arrive at the incident site swiftly,' it said in a
statement.
The SCDF's standard response time is 11 minutes for ambulances
and eight minutes for fire engines. It did not say how often it
manages to meet these timings.
-- ST