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SINGAPORE – Roads in Singapore are significantly smoother and safer than before the Covid-19 pandemic, even if the percentage of speed and failure cases has increased.
The Ground Transportation Authority said traffic volume has decreased on average by 60 percent since the pandemic hit in January, noting that the reduction “varies by location and time period.”
Given that more than 10 million trips are made on the road here a day before the outbreak, the reduction means that only four million trips are made today.
As a likely consequence, accidents have also decreased. Traffic Police told The Straits Times that traffic accidents have fallen by “more than 40 percent” since so-called “circuit breaker” measures were launched on April 7.
This is also significant, given that each year, there are 7,000 to 8,000 accidents involving injury or death. Accidents without injuries, totaling about 160,000 a year, are compiled by the General Insurance Association and are not available quarterly.
However, a Traffic Police spokesperson noted that the absolute number of speeding violations issued “has remained constant compared to the period prior to the circuit breaker.”
There were an average of 15,000 speeding offenses per month last year. Excluding public buses (which are unlikely to accelerate), the average road trip fell from 201 million per month to 80.4 million after the circuit breaker measures were implemented. This translates to 187 violations per million trips, compared to the previous 75.
Transport researcher at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), Park Byung Joon, said he was “somewhat surprised” that the volume of traffic has dropped by “just … 60 percent”, but other observers estimate that a sizable cohort of essential workers and an increase in delivery services may have cushioned the decline in travel
Transportation consultant Gopinath Menon noted that the Singapore circuit breaker is different from the “total block” instituted in several other cities.
Therefore, a “60 percent decrease in traffic seems reasonable.”
“I’m sure this is everyone’s feeling,” said Menon, a retired land transport authority planner, adding that the buses have also been “much less” full. “Many run less than a quarter.”
Meanwhile, the Singapore Automobile Association (AAS) witnessed a 9% increase in roadside assistance cases in April compared to April 2019.
AAS Chief Executive Lee Wai Mun said the vast majority of cases (more than two-thirds of the 1,600 or so) concerned battery or electrical problems.
“Non-use of cars, older cars and more cameras installed in cars are contributing to this,” said Lee.
With the circuit breaker, motorists often leave their vehicles unused for days or weeks. This causes the battery to run down continuously, without being recharged by the motor.
Experts recommend starting a car at least once a week to prevent this from happening.
The AAS noted that towing cases fell 46 percent in April compared to the same month last year, and 36 percent less compared to the first-quarter average.
Retired and former rally champion William Lyou, 71, said that even without a security camera installed, a car’s battery is in “constant discharge” due to its immobilizer (an anti-theft device) and the electronic fixing unit of road prices.
Lyou calculated that “driving is much safer” overall with the drop in traffic.
“The roads are suddenly wider, the air is definitely cleaner, which is also good for the environment,” he said.
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