Driving in Singapore

Driving licence

Obtaining a driving licence

A class 3 or class 3A licence permits the holder to drive motorcars weighing less than 3,000 kg when un laden and to carry no more than seven passengers. In addition, the holder may drive a motor tractor or other motor vehicles with an un laden weight of less than 2,500 kg. A class 3A licence limits the holder to drive motor vehicles without a clutch pedal, typically automatic transmission cars, whereas a class 3 licence allows the holder to drive all motor vehicles. Class 3A drivers are not allowed to drive manual transmission cars.

Drivers must be 18 years old to qualify for a licence including applying for theory lessons. Once a driver passes the Basic Theory Test (BTT), a Provisional Driving Licence (PDL) which lasts for six months before December 2017, 2 years validity after 1 December 2017, must be applied for before taking the practical driving lesson. It is an offence to learn to drive without a valid PDL licence. However, a student can choose to apply and pass the Final Theory Test (FTT) before applying for a PDL and starting driving lessons. The last stage of obtaining a driving licence is the practical driving test, for which a student must have a FTT pass result slip and a valid PDL. Failure to do so will cause the test to be rejected by the Traffic Police Tester.

The driving theory tests consists of 50 questions to be answered within 50 minutes; to pass, you must answer 45 out of the 50 questions correctly. Results are shown immediately after the test on the same touchscreen monitor.

Foreign drivers in Singapore

The Singapore Traffic Police require foreigners residing in Singapore to have a valid foreign driver’s licence and to be at least 18 years old.

Conversion to a Singaporean licence is often possible for certain classes of vehicles.

Foreigners who have obtained a Singapore licence are supplied with a limited-duration licence which needs to be renewed between one month before expiry and three years after expiry. After this period, the conversion procedure or licensing theory and practical tests must be taken all over again.

Licence renewal

No renewal of a driving licence is required for Singapore citizens and permanent residents since the introduction of the photo card licence. The driving licence is for the normal lifespan of the person and can be surrendered upon request to the Traffic Police. If the person passes away, the licence will have to be surrendered to the Traffic Police for cancellation, similar to National Registration Identity Card (NRIC). It is an offence for any persons to continue or to possess or use any other person’s identity card listed above without authorization.

A person who commits 12 demerit points and is above 80 years old is subject to early termination of the driving licence. New drivers above 79 years old will not be accepted. Random medical check-up screenings will be done for all drivers above 62 years old, if they still want to drive.

Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS)

The Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS) is a system whereby demerit points will be added to the driver’s record. The system is meant to deter drivers from infringing the rules-of-the-road and, if they do, suspend their driving licence for a period of time. This system requires repeat offenders to retest and pass the driving test again from the beginning.

Key Features Of DIPS

Suspension of driving licence

New or Probationary Motorists
For a new motorist who is under one year probation from the date of grant of his driving licence, his new driving licence will be revoked and become invalid when he accumulates 13 or more demerit points during his probationary period. The licence holder will have to retake all the necessary driving tests (theory and practical) to obtain a licence to drive/ride again.

Non-Probationary Motorists
For a motorist who has no previous suspension record with Traffic Police, if he has accumulated 24 or more demerit points within 24 consecutive months, his driving licence will become liable for the 1st suspension of 12 weeks.

For a motorist who has previous suspension records with Traffic Police, if he accumulated 12 or more demerit points within 12 consecutive months, his driving licence will become liable for the subsequent suspension.

For subsequent suspensions after 1st suspension, the suspension periods are :

a. 2nd suspension: 24 weeks;
b. 3rd suspension : 1 year;
c. 4th suspension : 2 years; and
d. 5th suspension (onwards) : 3 years.

Where the suspension period lasts a year or longer (i.e. 3rd suspension and onwards), the driving licence will be revoked and become invalid. The licence holder will have to retake all the necessary driving tests (theory and practical) to obtain a licence to drive/ride again.

Motorists liable for 1st and 2nd suspension will be offered a retraining course to correct their driving behaviours. If they take and pass the retraining course, their suspension period will be given a remission:

a. For 1st suspension, the suspension period will be reduced from 12 weeks to 4 weeks. If none of their traffic offences leading to their 1st suspension was involved in traffic accident, their suspension period will be further reduced to 1 week; and

b. For 2nd suspension, it will be reduced from 24 weeks to 12 weeks.

There is no offer of retraining course and remission for 3rd and subsequent suspensions.

During the suspension period, the photo card driving licences must be surrendered to Traffic Police. For 1st and 2nd suspensions, the photo card driving licences will be returned to the motorists upon the expiry of the suspension period. The following table summarises the suspension rules under DIPS for non-probationary motorists.

Multiple Notice of demerit points accumulated
Motorist will be notified and updated of their demerit point status after settling every offence where demerit points are awarded. The intent of the letter is to pre-warn the licence holder to improve his driving behaviour, and encourage them to remain offence-free for 12 months for their demerit points to be expunged, which otherwise they may face the consequence of becoming liable for suspension.

Incentives for good driving behaviour
A licence holder who maintains a 12-month period free of scheduled offences from the date of last scheduled offence committed will have all his previous demerit points removed from his record.

A licence holder who maintains a 24-month period free of scheduled offences from the date of expiry of last suspension will also have all his previous suspension(s) removed from his record, i.e. he will be treated similar to a driver with no previous suspension record.

Motorists with a clean driving record for a continuous period of three years will enjoy a discount over and above the usual No-Claim Bonus when they renew their insurance policy (for personal vehicle) with participating insurance companies. They must also not have made any claims on their vehicles’ insurance for the past three years.

Roads in Singapore

Electronic Road Pricing

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore implemented an Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme to deter traffic congestion during peak hours at various roads. The ERP scheme requires electronic gantries to be placed over the road at designated locations and that cars be equipped with an In-Vehicle Unit (IU), a rectangular device pasted on the inside bottom right of the front windscreen from the driver’s view, which will deduct the toll price from a Cash Card. The Cash Card must be inserted into the device, and failure to do so is in violation of law. There is no charge for entering the area during certain non-peak times.

Parking

The cost of parking in many upgraded car parks can be deducted from the Cash Card inserted in the IU of the vehicle, thus eliminating the need for the car park to have an attendant. Although the cost of parking (which is published) is variable, parking costs tend to be much less expensive compared to other cities like London and New York

Some car parks in Singapore are equipped with sensors that can detect whether the position is filled or not. This information is processed and displayed in signs around the car park, directing drivers to areas where there are free spaces.

There is a new parking app which is helpful for motorists who want to pay for exact parking without the hassle of tearing the required parking coupons.

Road signs

During British colonial rule, Singapore’s road rules and legislature which govern the design and layout of the road signs were directly imported from Britain. As such, most road signs in Singapore are similar to those in the UK. For example, warning signs are depicted as red triangles and mandatory regulative signs are depicted as blue circles.

However, several aspects of road signage and traffic-calming measures were adopted and developed locally after independence. Major deviations are as follows:

1. A locally developed typefaceis used in favour for the road signs, instead of Transportwhich was adopted in Britain.

2. In 1998, a system of black-on-yellow “curve alignment markers” were widely adopted and gradually replaced the British system of using white-on-black sharp deviation signs to delineate sharp turns. A few of the British system was still kept such as in Mandai Road and Suntec City.

3. In the late 1990s, all the circular regulatory signs and triangular warning signs were mounted to a one-size-fits-all square white backing board to improve visual on a complex background like trees.

4.In the early 2000s, signs at road works are usually black-on-red-orange with diamond and rectangular shaped, which are similar to the Taiwanese system.

Most roads, bridges, round about, and tunnels are marked with signposts with the road’s name. The expressways in Singapore are not numbered (unlike most other countries), but are named. Road signs abbreviate the full name of the expressway into three representative letters, such as the PIE for Pan Island Expressway or the ECP for East Coast Parkway respectively.

Almost all road signs in Singapore are in English although many road names have a Malay origin. Typically, “Jalan” is used for “Road” and “Lorong” is used for “Lane”. Multilingual road signs exist, especially for historically ethnic enclaves like Chinatown or Little India, or for landmarks. For example, some directional signs pointing to Chinese or Hindu temples are bilingual or trilingual (English, Chinese, or Tamil). Bilingual signage dates to the early days of Singapore.

Curiously enough, even on the larger signs, road names are rarely spelt out in full. For example, “road” is almost always “Rd” (“Avenue” as “Ave”, “Bukit” as “Bt”, “Boulevard” as “Blvd”, “Close” as “Cl”, “Central” as “Ctrl”, “Crescent” as “Cres”, “Drive” as “Dr”, “Jalan” as “Jln”, “Kampong” as “Kg”, “Lane” as “Ln”, “Lorong” as “Lor”, “Upper” as “Upp”, “Place” as “Pl”, “Saint” and “Street” as “St”, “Tanjong” as “Tg”). Exceptions include roads that end with less common words, such as “walk”, “hill”, and “park”.

Left turn or right turn at a red traffic light

Left Turn

In Singapore, it is illegal to turn left (into the nearest lane, due to the left-hand driving) during a red light. This rule, however, does not apply if a “Left Turn on Red” sign is present at the junction, allowing left turning motorists to turn left, provided they stop before the stop line and give way to pedestrians and incoming traffic.

Right Turn

It is illegal to turn right during a red light in Singapore.

Right turns are permissible only when one’s lane has the green light signal and the opposing traffic lane, travelling in the opposite direction, is clear and favourable to execute a right turn. However, green turning signals (the outline of a right-pointing arrow) are installed onto some traffic lights.

These rules in Singapore are similar to many countries that employ left-hand traffic, and unlike countries which permit turns on red.

Special Roads

Due to the limited land space in Singapore, selected roads, especially those with more lanes have been specially designated as runways for aircraft in the event of emergency or when needs arise.

Traffic safety

Driving safety

Driving after consuming alcohol, using a phone while driving, dangerous driving, and car racing are all illegal.

Car safety crash tests

The Singapore government accepts the crash safety standards of the EU and Japan. Cars made in the EU and Japan do not need to pass additional safety standards to be sold in Singapore. Cars may be privately imported into Singapore if they have an EU Certificate of Conformity or the Japanese Completion Inspection Certificate, both of which incorporate emissions and safety standards.^[8] Not all cars sold in Singapore have been tested by the EuroNCAP, a car-safety testing organisation jointly operated by several European government agencies, that crash tests cars that can be legally sold in several European countries.