LAST year, there were 188 road fatalities, or a road death every
other day, and driving along Lim Chu Kang Road on Monday morning,
it was not difficult for me to see why.
The speed limit of the road was 70kmh, and as I drove along, big
trucks and lorries flashed past me, dangerously above the speed
limit.
Drivers who speed do not realise that they are part of a killing
machine. Speeding is a fatal menace and should be much more policed
than it is now.
During my 45-minute journey from Kranji to Suntec City, I did
not spot a single police patrol car or Traffic Police
motorcycle.
Speed traps are too few and far between, allowing irresponsible
drivers to bolt and swerve on expressways unpunished.
Alongside public campaigns on road safety, there should be more
traffic policing vehicles to arrest the immediate problem of
dangerous speedsters.
It is also appalling to see the types of vehicles allowed on our
expressways, and the manner in which they are driven: small
motorcycles with unprotected riders in slippers zipping in and out
of traffic, and lorries loaded with men and material zooming past
speed limits.
Singapore has stringent standards in licensing drivers, but such
standards are futile if we let law-breaking speedsters threaten the
lives of other road users and do not police such dangerous
drivers.
Fines and imprisonment may not be enough of a disincentive.
The punishment which will effectively deter speeding is
caning.
And if a driver's speeding is responsible for a road user's
death, then hanging is a fair punishment for killing someone.
Ivy Singh-Lim (Mrs)
