Suspensions more 'painful' than fines: Drivers, experts on stricter demerit rules

Licence suspensions can change behaviour, but habitual risk-takers may remain undeterred, drivers and experts say.

SINGAPORE: In 2019, Martin (not his real name) ran two red lights on consecutive nights while driving home from work.

The two offences cost him 12 demerit points each, tipping him past the 24-point threshold and triggering a 12-week driving suspension for a first-time offender.

He attended a retraining course for motorists whose licences had been suspended, then passed the tests required at the end of the course, which reduced his suspension period.

The process took "a few weeks", said the 32-year-old, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The suspension actually worked and I stopped getting demerit points,” he said. “My old philosophy was that 24 points was a lot, but turns out it was easier to go over the limit than I thought.”

Another driver, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said a suspension is more "painful". The man in his thirties had served a five-year driving suspension and a three-week jail sentence for causing a serious accident in 2020.

He said fines do not deter unsafe driving, but a longer suspension might.

“As long as a person is working and owning a car, a fine is not that big an amount to affect their behaviour. But demerit points will threaten their entitlement to drive, and that’s something money can’t buy,” he said.

The bigger financial hit, he added, comes from a car's depreciation. He estimated that a year off the road could cost a driver between S$10,000 and S$13,000 (US$7,800 to US$10,100) in Certificate of Entitlement value alone.

“The thing is, a lot of people don’t realise this until it happens to them. They need to commit an error once first,” he said.

Suspensions like these could become more common under changes to the Driver Improvement Points System, better known as the demerit points system. From Jan 1, 2027, the threshold for a first suspension will drop from 24 points in two years to 18, and suspension periods will lengthen.

The changes are meant to deter traffic violations and keep errant motorists off the roads for longer periods, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said.

Sociologist Tan Ern Ser said that the reduced suspension threshold would send a signal that there is “no room for complacency that one is unlikely to ever face any punishment”.

“In psychological jargon, this could make a dent on one's tendency towards optimism bias,” said Dr Tan, an adjunct principal research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).

RISK-TAKERS WILL REMAIN

But drivers also told CNA that while demerit points may encourage safer driving among some motorists, risk-takers will persist regardless.

Part-time private-hire driver Carmen Ortega said she has seen many dangerous drivers on the roads who "don't have the capacity to care so much".

"Those who like to push their luck will always do it," she said. "They must be caught first, then they'll be scared."

Veteran transport engineering consultant AP Gopinath Menon said the demerit points system does not deter reckless drivers, who are focused on evading enforcement.

"In all driving populations, there are such drivers," said Mr Menon.

Dr Tan from IPS said suspensions may not be "such a big deal" for those who can afford not to drive or have easy access to other transport options.

Public shaming, he suggested, could be a more effective deterrent: "For people who care about their reputation, the punishment would carry far more weight."

An incentive system for safe drivers could also work, he added. "Symbolic rewards, like a badge of honour prominently displayed on the licence plate, could also reinforce one's identity as a responsible driver."

Demerit points for common traffic violations

3 points

Driver failing to wear a seatbelt or failing to ensure every passenger wears a seatbelt
Driver failing to ensure that a passenger below the height of 1.35m is properly secured by an approved child restraint or body-restraining seatbelt
Rider failing to wear a helmet or wearing a helmet insecurely
Carrying excess pillion or pillion is not sitting astride
Disobeying traffic direction of a police officer, employee of authority, or security officer engaged in regulating traffic *
Conveying load not properly secured
Using tyres with ply or cord carcass exposed
Driver failing to fill up every passenger seat in the driver’s cabin, or any additional cabin or enclosed space provided for the carriage of passengers or goods, before carrying any person on the floor of open deck goods vehicle

4 points

Failing to give way to oncoming traffic at controlled junction *
Failing to give way at an uncontrolled junction, junction, or roundabout *
Crossing double white lines or a road divider *
Obstructing the flow of traffic
Forming up incorrectly when turning left or right *
Failing to give way to emergency vehicles such as ambulances, fire brigades or police vehicles
Driving in a dangerous manner while carrying load

6 points

Exceeding the vehicular speed limit by up to 20kmh *
Exceeding the road speed limit by up to 20kmh *
Driving on the shoulder of expressways
Failing to securely tie or attach goods to a goods vehicle to prevent the goods from falling off
Offences committed by motorists at a pedestrian crossing *
Driving or riding against the flow of traffic as indicated by traffic signs *
Carrying passengers on a motor vehicle or trailer in a dangerous manner
Reversing unnecessarily on expressways
Careless driving endangering life *

8 points

Exceeding the vehicular speed limit by more than 20kmh and up to 30kmh *
Exceeding the road speed limit by more than 20kmh and up to 30kmh *

9 points

Carrying passengers on a goods vehicle in a dangerous manner
Careless driving causing hurt *

12 points

Exceeding the vehicular speed limit by more than 30kmh and up to 40kmh *
Exceeding the road speed limit by more than 30kmh and up to 40kmh *
Using mobile communication devices while driving *
Failing to conform to traffic light signals *

18 points

Exceeding the vehicular speed limit by more than 40kmh and up to 50kmh *
Exceeding the road speed limit by more than 40kmh and up to 50kmh *

24 points (this will be adjusted to 18 points)

Exceeding the vehicular speed limit by more than 50kmh
Exceeding the road speed limit by 51kmh to 60kmh
Reckless or dangerous driving

** Motorists who commit specified offences at pedestrian crossings or offences that endanger pedestrian safety at School Zones, Silver Zones or Friendly Zones streets will incur two additional demerit points.*

CAREER DRIVERS AT RISK

Lawyer Bozy Lu, a partner at Han & Lu Law Chambers who specialises in road accident claims and community law, said the new rules will disproportionately affect career drivers.

Private-hire drivers often struggle to balance pressure from passengers to speed up against their own job security, Ms Lu said, adding that she has represented private-hire drivers who asked if they could pay fines instead of facing suspension or disqualification.

Ms Ortega, who has been a private-hire driver for 10 years, said a suspension means more than lost income. Many drivers lease their vehicles on contract and must keep up loan repayments even while unable to work.

“If you are a driver, you just have to be careful, because this is your rice bowl, you have to protect it at all costs,” she said.

The 39-year-old is not concerned about the reduced threshold, as she sees herself as a safe driver who will "not go anywhere near there".

She has picked up no demerit points in recent years, though she has had to push back against passengers who demand that she make illegal U-turns or drive over the speed limit.

“If they rush me, I’ll say that I’ll try my best. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll say ‘sorry, it’s illegal so I can’t do it’,” she said.

Members of Parliament asked during a sitting on Aug 4 whether the revised system could include a differentiated regime for vocational drivers.

Second Minister for Home Affairs Sim Ann said such a regime would create "a lower standard of road safety accountability for one group of road users versus the rest".

"Seen in this light, it is very difficult to justify," she added.

Singapore will tighten penalties for errant motorists from Jan 1 next year as part of a push to improve road safety, lowering the threshold for a first licence suspension from 24 to 18 demerit points within two years while lengthening suspension periods.

CNA's Noah Kong shows how quickly a series of traffic offences could lead to a driving ban under the new rules.