You need a PHD not to flout parking rules in Singapore
Double yellow line: No parking on this side of the road
Single solid line: No parking on either side of the road
Dashed (Broken) line: Can park at both side of the road (with some exception)
Clear enough? wait till you see some of the examples here:
You must use PARKING LOT - this guy got a parking ticket for parking in front of his own house, without blocking any one except himself, despite the broken line outside the house.
Alert! Parallel Parking in Roadside URA lots- $50 Fine..! - this guy was fined for "Failure to obey sign(s) displayed in a parking place." but he was actually fined for parking "Inside Parking Lot, Against Traffic Flow" which harms no one.
OMG, these stupid rules suck!
Of course you can appeal, it makes the guy sitting in the aircon office feels that he has all the power at his disposal to decide the fate of someone, and you better pray that he has not been scolded by his wife that morning or having a bad day looking at your appeal!
Less parking space available while car population shoots up!
On a side note, "High demand for lots takes toll on HDB's free family parking scheme", we have been witnessing our free car park space dwindle over the years while the car population exploded. The latest casualty is many lanes of Little India does not offer free parking after 5pm and weekends anymore. This is a brilliant money making scheme which can not be copied by most other countries (and it is a shame that the Singapore Government did not patent it!) unless the local Government risk losing the election or face massive protest.
And the inaction of both TP and LTA added to drivers' woes
If every Singaporean's life is important, LTA and TP do something to save more motorcyclists' and cyclists' lives!
2928 motocycle casualties taken to hospital in 2010 in Singapore Civil Defence force (SCDF) ambulance. The number in 2011 roses to 4095!!! it does not matter if the motorcyclist is in the right or wrong, if he is in an accidents, he often pays for his life or severe disability due to the little physical protection he has.
Over half of bad crashes involve motorcyclists
Motorcyclists tend to suffer severe injuries because they get flung off their vehicles
Every day, almost a dozen motorcyclists or pillion riders are injured on the roads.
Hospitals say they account for more than half of the more serious accident cases, even though motorcycles make up only 15 per cent of vehicles here.
Last year, 96 motorcyclists and three pillion riders died - accounting for half of all road deaths.
Many riders who survive suffer severe injuries because they are flung and dragged or they land in the path of other vehicles. Fractures are common, and they also suffer internal injuries ranging from brain damage to crushed organs, and could end up in hospital for weeks or months.
....
Since January last year, NUH has treated 370 road accident victims with moderate to severe injuries. They included 220 motorcyclists or pillion riders, 15 of whom died.
Do more to protect m-cyclists (The Sunday Times, 20 may 2012)-"they (the motorcyclists) appear to be a blind spot on the policymaker's radar."
Cyclists renew calls for rights - "Mr Jude Alphonsus Tan, 25, was cycling with a group of friends when he was knocked down by a lorry on May 26. He died instantly. Two days after Mr Tan's accident, another cyclist was hit and killed by a van in Senoko South Road."
The Ferrari driver was Mr Ma Chi, 31, a businessman who came from China a few years ago. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
The taxi driver, 52-year-old Mr Cheng Teck Hock, was pronounced brain deadand passed away at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He was the sole breadwinner of his family, and is survived by his wife and three children.
A Japanese woman who was a passenger in the taxi succumbed to her injuries and died at the Singapore General Hospital on Saturday, May 12, the same day the crash happened.
[Updated 26 may 2012] In less than 2 week after the first accident, another car (this time Lexus) sped and beat the red light and crashed into a Taxi resulting in another scary accident. One of the victims, the male taxi passenger, was sent to the Singapore General Hospital after the accident. The car driver was arrested for drink driving. You have been warned the footage is quite disturbing.
Speed demons not meant for S'pore roads
Letter from Rajesh Seth
Source: Todayonline May 17, 2012
THE horror of the Ferrari crash at Rochor Road, caught live on camera, would send chills down anyone's spine.
In 1992, the sale of chewing gum was banned in Singapore because it became a nuisance.
The authorities should explain why these brutes of a machine should not be labelled as a nuisance in Singapore when the maximum speed limit on our roads is 90km/h.
I am at a loss to find an answer to how these over-powered sports machines contribute to Singapore's economy.
Secondly, we have installed traffic lights which detect traffic density and changes. The lights change faster at night.
Have the authorities allowed for a lag time for motorists when the traffic lights change?
Where this accident occurred, the lights are at close intervals and the road is straight. Traffic lights at several junctions are visible at night.
Could a driver possibly miss a red light against the background of several green lights?
Askmelah's note: a long overdue effort, finally a TP chief is finally doing his/her job. I have no doubt that the effect will reign in the notorious bad habits of the local drivers and saves many lives in the long run.
On the other hand, LTA is failing us. instead of controlling the car population, explore new transport means (e.g. water taxi), car pooling etc they choose to build more roads which not only expensive, disturbing nature habitat, taking up precious land, worse it just diverts the traffic and encourage higher car population in the long run. Kudos to TP and shame on LTA.
"It is better to find more ways to control car numbers and immigration which has fuelled the car population than to build more roads and destroy what little open, green space we have."- Tan Wee Cheng
"Public transport has been improved, with interconnected Mass Rapid Transit lines and bus networks. So why is our transport system struggling to cope? The answer is that our planners have a fragmented view of the social, economic, environmental and development aspects of Singapore. Visions and policies do not weave together across these as they should." - Mallika Naguran
900 caught in covert traffic police operations
Source: Todayonline Mar 22, 2012
The Traffic Police caught some 900 offenders flouting traffic rules in their covert operations between mid-October last year and the end of last month, due to more regular deployment of plain-clothes officers and unmarked vehicles.
Beating the red light topped the list of the top five offences nabbed by these covert operations.
Also in the top five is using a mobile phone while driving, which could see an offender fined up to S$1,000, jailed up to six months or both.
Plain-clothes officers deployed inconspicuously among the crowd have made it harder for such offenders to escape the law, said the Traffic Police.
Other top offences include careless driving, making unauthorised U-turns and not wearing a seatbelt. Channel NewsAsia
Adjust speed limits, not build roads, to ease congestion
Letter from Gabriel Tang Sheng Hua
Source: todayonline Mar 22, 2012
THE proposed road across Bukit Brown would improve congestion only minimally, benefitting mostly those accessing Singapore Island Country Club and future residences in the area.
In the past few years, the Traffic Police has enforced the speed limit along Lornie Road and many drivers now keep to 70 km/h as a result. This has increased congestion.
Such enforcement is outdated. If we are to be a mature state, the speed limits should be recommended speeds only, which, on dual-lane roads or viaducts, should be up to 90 km/h.
On expressways, it should be up to 120 km/h on the first lane. All vehicles could travel safely at a recommended speed of 90 km/h on the second and third lane, to allow faster throughput.
Drivers should then be penalised for exceeding 120 km/h or 90 km/h and would be able to drive more safely, with less sudden braking just before speed cameras.
If safety is a concern, speed cameras and indicators should be installed along smaller roads and in the vicinity of schools.
But most accidents are caused by improper lane discipline. The Traffic Police should have more enforcement against road hogging and heavy vehicles travelling on the wrong lanes.
The cost of increasing speed limits is next to nothing compared to building the new road with its vehicular bridge.
New road will worsen traffic woes
Letter from Tan Wee Cheng
Source: Todayonline Mar 22, 2012
I AM a Thomson resident, and I expect traffic to worsen and noise pollution to intensify with the new road across Bukit Brown.
I notice that the traffic jam along Lornie Road is not so much due to southbound traffic but mostly because the Pan-Island Expressway traffic is too heavy, and traffic cannot filter onto the PIE. The Government should widen the PIE, not build a new road.
Studies done around the world have shown that whenever more roads are built in an area already with a dense road network, the traffic situation deteriorates.
It is better to find more ways to control car numbers and immigration which has fuelled the car population than to build more roads and destroy what little open, green space we have.
Curb car pollution for Singapore to be more sustainable in future
Letter from Mallika Naguran
Source: Todayonline Mar 22, 2012
WE ARE told that the new road in Bukit Brown will improve traffic flow, which is expected to increase by up to 30 per cent by 2020.
The question we should be asking is: What kind of sustainable Singapore do we want in 2020 and beyond? By building more roads, we continue to encourage private vehicle ownership.
Public transport has been improved, with interconnected Mass Rapid Transit lines and bus networks. So why is our transport system struggling to cope?
The answer is that our planners have a fragmented view of the social, economic, environmental and development aspects of Singapore. Visions and policies do not weave together across these as they should.
Staggered work hours and telecommuting could reduce the stress on public transport during peak hours. This approach was tested 20 years ago in one statutory board but nothing has materialised since.
Flexi-work could start with working from home weekly or monthly, or by changing office hours. The Civil Service, the nation's largest employer, could take the lead.
Buses could be more frequent, with more and varied express bus services to busy areas. Bicycle lanes could be drawn within the bus lanes; half a metre is all that is needed. Melbourne sets a brilliant example of this approach and it works.
Cars are highly polluting, during manufacture, delivery and use. Car ownership here should be given the same treatment as our housing policy. Families of three or more should be allowed to buy a car more easily than singles.
Pollution tax should be incorporated in the cost of cars (besides Electronic Road Pricing). Parking rates should be made uncomfortably high, as is the case in Hong Kong. It is time to wield the stick if we are serious about reducing congestion on roads.
“As CEO of SMRT, I am naturally responsible (for the breakdowns). Being responsible does not mean walking away from these faults; it means doing all I can to get the problem fixed." - Saw Phaik Hwa
By now, you must be in outer space or working whole day in the lab continuously for few days to not have noticed the news about the crumpling of the MRT networks in Singapore. After moreSMRT CEO making a grand entrance at a recent company's D&D (Source: Alvinology) than 20 years in operation and the huge influx of foreigners in the last few years, the Government of Singapore reacts to the displeasure of the public by forcing the MRT operators to increase the frequencies of the MRT, yes alleviate the jam packed somewhat but still very packed most of the time. While this is a natural remedy, but the root cause of the problem do not go away overnight - the number of huge population is still there, they don't disappear overnight! The whole transport system also needs an overhaul (read more here).
Strangely, the CEO has been quoted that she would not resign. I think any respectable CEO after seeing such a big mess should rightfully stay on, solve the problem during this difficult time and then gracefully resign after the incident is under control. This is not the first incident that she has messed up, a recent breach of security happened this year, public displeasure over the jam-packed trains, frequent downtime of an essential service.... the list goes on. We can not blame her alone, why was she hired as a CEO to run an operational Source: Businessweek.com(and a very essential one) company when her background is in finance and marketing? I think the Board of Inquiry commissioned by the PM should also look into putting in place a proper check and balance to ensure that the appointment of the CEO is well scrutinised. I can not fathom a company like SIA is not run by an competent CEO from that industry, how many lives would have been lost? As the Chinese saying goes: 冰冻三尺非一日之寒 (the thick ice do not just form overnight), major disaster is often a cumulative of events leading to its unfortunate outcome.
Updated 23 Dec 2012: In a special TV report shown on Ch8 10pm today, it was shown that Minister Lui Tuck Yew took his own initiative in inspecting the MRT network, it was a surprise check without other officials accompanying him. In contrast, the CEO of LTA and SMRT were nowhere to be seen in action (to be fair to Ms Saw, New Paper has reported that she did show up in other occasions). The contrast is startling and that may explain why the regulation and MRT are slowly falling apart with these armchair CEOs in charge. Kudos to Minsiter Lui, you show that you really care!
Using the keywords in Google "saw phaik hwa should resign", you will not be surprised to see the calls for Saw Phaik Hwa to resign is overwhelming. Here are some articles on the related topics:
As I have mentioned in my previous post, it is only right that she resigns from the post of CEO to take responsibility for the furor - ideally when the ship is stablised, nevertheless it is the right thing to do. But we should call a spade a spade, the statement by SMRT
"According to SMRT board chairman Koh Yong Guan, Ms Saw had spoken to him of "her desire to move on during 2012" on Dec 7 - a week before the first five-hour breakdown hit parts of the North-South Line. SMRT's filing with the Singapore Exchange said the 57-year-old was leaving "to pursue personal interests".
amounts to nothing but baloney, on Dec 18 - a day after the second disruption hit the North-South Line - Ms Saw said she was "staying put" to "put everything right". I will admire SMRT more if they have just said that the CEO has quitted to take the responsibility for the massive disruptions.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at 10:51PM 
