To enforce road safety among road users, effective and efficient measures must be put in place. Hence, there is a need to study the human behaviour and devise with new approaches, leveraging on psychology and spiritual factors. This includes the use of operant conditioning where learning the consequences (Reinforcement and Punishment) of an individual’s behaviour to shape future behaviour.
In this resource centre, we can explore the application on concepts of both the Reinforcement and Punishment that the Singapore's Traffic Police (TP) has used to enforce and promote road safety.
Operant Conditioning. Video: Operant Conditioning: Positive and Negative Reinforcement and Punishment. Video: What is Operant Conditioning?
Video: Skinner’s Operant Conditioning: Rewards & Punishments.
Flowchart: <Overview of Operant Conditioning> Reinforcement. Video: Positive and Negative Reinforcement. Video: Positive vs Negative Reinforcement in ONE Minute. Punishment. Video: Positive and negative punishment. Video: Difference Between Positive and Negative Punishment.
Accidents in Singapore (Caused by Motorists and Pedestrians) (2019 News) Website: Clementi crash that killed NUS student: $5,000 bail for driver who was allegedly speeding , Courts & Crime News. SINGAPORE - A man who was allegedly speeding when his car ploughed into a taxi, causing an accident that killed a National University of Singapore (NUS) student, has had his bail set at $5,000. Ng Li Ning, 22, is facing a dangerous driving charge and his pre-trial conference took place at the State Courts on Friday (Oct 11). He is accused of driving at a speed of 92kmh when his car struck Yap Kok Hua's taxi along Commonwealth Avenue West at around 7.30pm on April 19 last year. The speed limit there was 70kmh, according to court documents. NUS student Kathy Ong Kai Ting, 19, who was in the taxi, died of multiple injuries while three other passengers suffered serious injuries, including those affecting the brain.
Yap, 55, who is no longer a taxi driver, was sentenced in August to eight weeks' jail and banned from driving for five years. In July, he pleaded guilty to negligent driving, and causing the death of Ms Ong and the grievous hurt to the other passengers. (2019 Footage) Video: 19apr2018 3 angles combined view accident@commonwealth avenue west silvercab taxi & nissan presage. (2020 News) Website:17-year-old pedestrian in hospital after jaywalking accident in Paya Lebar Road flings her in the air, Singapore News. (2020 Footage) Video: 1oct2020 jaywalking pedestrians get hit by taxi silvercab at paya lebar road. Road Accident Statistics. Road accident statistics in Singapore. Last Updated: January, 2020.
Latest available data from May, 2019. Highlights There were 7,690 road accidents involving injuries in 2018120 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2018Elderly pedestrians accounted for two-thirds of all pedestrian fatalities. (1 in 2 accidents involving elderly pedestrians was due to jaywalking)Motorcyclists and pillion riders account for about 1 in 2 of overall road fatalities73% of heavy vehicle drivers speed when traffic is lightSingapore’s road fatality rate of 2.73 per 100,000 citizens is higher than London, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Deaths per 100,000 people Singapore’s road traffic fatality rate per 100,000 population went down significantly from 2010 to 2016.
(Positive Reinforcement) Commendations By Traffic Police. (Positive Reinforcement - Resource One) Website: Driver gets award for helping elderly wheelchair user who was struggling to cross road in the rain, Singapore News. SINGAPORE - A split-second decision on the road has seen Mr David Chin, 41, become the subject of a viral online video as well as the recipient of the Public Spiritedness Award on Friday (Sept 25). Recounting the incident, Mr Chin said that he was driving home in pouring rain after picking up his 11-year-old daughter from ballet class on Sept 5. At a traffic junction, he saw an old man on a wheelchair struggling to cross the road.
The green light for pedestrians at the crossing were already flashing but the man, who looked about 70, had barely made it half way across. He had an umbrella over his shoulder, which impeded his manoeuvring of the wheelchair. "He could not move. He pushed the man to safety before returning to his car and did not think twice about the incident.
Unknown to him, though, his act was captured on video. Uploaded by a stranger, the post attracted the attention of the Traffic Police, which on Friday commended his efforts with the Public Spiritedness Award plaque. (Positive Reinforcement - Resource Two) Website: Motorists get pulled over - for doing good, Transport News. When Mr Lim Kan Seng's Toyota Previa was pulled over by the Traffic Police along New Upper Changi Road yesterday morning, he panicked a little. Mr Lim, 50, a hawker, thought he might be in for a summons, but what he received instead were a zebra plush toy and $40 worth of petrol vouchers. "I thought I had done something wrong... but the police said they saw me giving way to another driver, and wanted to commend me," he said.
"I had just turned left into the main road when another car was trying to cut into my lane from the right, so I let him pass. " Mr Lim was among seven motorists who were pulled over on the roads yesterday for displaying good driving habits, as part of a nine-hour island-wide "Spot the Conscientious Motorists" operation conducted by the police. Since the programme started in October 2013, 391 motorists have been identified and rewarded. Motorists get a commendation certificate, in addition to the road safety mascot toy and vouchers. adrianl@sph.com.sg. (Positive Reinforcement - Resource Three) Video: oct2019 singapore traffic police officers stop and reward riders whom suited up when riding. (Negative Reinforcement) Implementation Of Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS) (Negative Reinforcement - Resource One) Website: Motorists can reduce demerit points if they attend safety course - TODAYonline.
SINGAPORE — Motorists who have accumulated more than half of their maximum allowable demerit points now have a chance to redeem themselves via the Traffic Police’s Safe Driving Course (SDC), set to be introduced next month.
Designed to educate motorists on safe driving techniques, correct dangerous driving behaviour and encourage good road habits, the SDC is an enhancement to the Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS). Motorists who complete the SDC will have three demerit points cancelled from their driving records, but they can only get demerit points cancelled twice during their lifetime. The SDC will consist of both theory and practical sessions for a total of 4 hours. (Negative Reinforcement - Resource Two) Website: Driving Centre - Safe Driving Course - Traffic Police. The Safe Driving Course is introduced under Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS) as a ‘circuit breaker’ for motorists who are close to being liable for their first suspension under DIPS.
It aims to overcome and correct dangerous road behaviour through early corrective education and encourage positive road behavioural change. Four demerit points will be deducted for motorists who complete both theory and practical training. Deduction of demerit points is subject to and under the jurisdiction of Traffic Police. (Negative Reinforcement - Resource Three) Website: Certificate of Merit. What is it? And how can you get one?
Getting a driver’s licence ensures that you are qualified to drive.
But along with that comes the responsibility of making sure you drive safely, not just for your sake but also for the sake of other road users. To ensure that drivers are aware of this and keep safety uppermost on their minds while driving, the Traffic Police has instituted a system of rewards and punishments. In March 1983, the Traffic Police introduced the Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS). How does the Driver Improvement System work? Under Singapore’s DIPS, chalking up 24 demerit points or more within 24 consecutive months will result in a suspension of your driving licence for three months. If you have been suspended before, your licence will be suspended again when you accumulate 12 points within 12 months of your last offence. (Negative Reinforcement) Implementation Of Speed Cameras. (Negative Reinforcement - Resource Four) Website: Traffic police launches mobile speed cameras to tackle new problem areas - TODAYonline. SINGAPORE — With the roll-out of cameras to catch those who beat the red light, and speeding motorists showing promising results in reducing violations, the Traffic Police (TP) is introducing new Mobile Speed Cameras this month that are battery-operated and can be deployed within a week, to better tackle “emerging” problem areas.
This was shared at the release of the TP’s annual traffic situation report today (Feb 16), which showed that while the number of fatalities resulting from road accidents dipped in 2015 from the year before, the number of injury accidents rose, with accidents involving the elderly, and motorcyclists and pillion riders, being two areas of concern. TP’s figures showed that after the introduction of the 240 red light cameras and 20 digital speed cameras in 2014 and last year respectively, the number of “red-running” violations fell by 27.2 per cent to 28,507, from 39,168 in 2014. “Those visual signs go a long way to reinforce the safety culture,” he added. (Negative Reinforcement - Resource Five) Traffic Police's new portable speed laser cameras: Where can you find them , Transport News. (Positive Punishment) The Impose of Composition Fines And Demerit Points. (Positive Punishment - Resource One) Website: Higher fines for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists from April: MHA.
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will raise fines for road traffic offences starting Apr 1, in a bid to strengthen deterrence against irresponsible driving.
In a press release on Thursday (Feb 21), MHA said that raising composition sums, or fines, would ensure that they remain effective as a deterrent and curb the uptrend in road traffic offences. "It is important to nip unsafe driving in the bud, before serious accidents happen and people are killed or hurt," said MHA. (Positive Punishment - Resource Two) Website: Police officer fined S$200, 12 demerit points for beating red light - TODAYonline. SINGAPORE — A police officer has been fined $200 and given 12 demerit points for beating a red light last month.
In a video recorded by an in-car camera on June 4 and posted online, a police car is seen driving through a red traffic signal at a T-junction at Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 and Bukit Batok Street 31. The lights had turned in favour of adjacent traffic, but the police vehicle drove through the junction toward a pedestrian crossing where people were crossing the road. The police officer realised his mistake mid-way through the traffic junction and managed to stop the vehicle just before the pedestrian crossing.
He then reversed back to the stop line. No one was injured in the incident. The video had gone viral on social media and chat apps. Responding to TODAY’s queries, a spokesman for the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said: “Upon conclusion of Traffic Police’s investigations, the officer was found to have committed the offence of failing to conform to the red light signal. (Positive Punishment - Resource Three) Video: Strengthening Deterrence Against Irresponsible Driving. (Negative Punishment) License Revoked and Banned from Driving.
(Negative Punishment - Resource One) Website: Cabby jailed five months for killing pedestrian while running red light, Courts & Crime News. SINGAPORE - A taxi driver tried to beat a red light but ended up killing a pedestrian who was crossing the road. Abdul Shukor Jumat - who already had five driving offences under his belt - was speeding at 79kmh, 9kmh above the limit, before he ploughed into Chinese national Li Yong, 38. On Thursday (April 26), Shukor, 50, was sentenced to five months in jail for causing Mr Li's death through reckless driving.
He will also have his driving licence revoked for six years. Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Low told the court that Shukor was driving on Gambas Avenue towards Woodlands Avenue 8 on April 9 last year. At about 11.20pm, he approached a cross junction at Woodlands Avenue 7, and drove straight into it despite the traffic light having been red for 30 seconds The cabby failed to brake and hit Mr Li, who had been crossing while the green man was flashing.
He was flung into the air and landed on the rear of the taxi. (Negative Punishment - Resource Two) Website: 55 months' jail and lifetime driving ban for driver of Maserati that dragged cop along road for over 100m, Courts & Crime News. SINGAPORE - A Maserati driver whose car dragged a police officer for more than 100m along Bedok Reservoir Road in 2017 was sentenced on Tuesday (July 28) to four years and seven months' jail with a lifetime driving ban. District Judge Ng Peng Hong, who said that Lee Cheng Yan's offences "warranted a retributive and deterrent sentence", also ordered him to pay a fine of $3,700. In December last year after a five-day trial, the judge found Lee, now 36, guilty of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to the policeman, Staff Sergeant Khairulanwar Abd Kahar, 26.
The policeman had stopped Lee on Nov 17, 2017 for driving without a seat belt. He approached the car to speak to the driver. Lee, who was under a driving ban at the time, instead fled the scene in his white Maserati. Staff Sgt Khairulanwar was dragged along the road when his uniform got caught in the driver-side door of the car. Additional Measures to Educate and Raise Public Awareness. 2019 - Road Safety Campaign. RoadSense Carnival On 6 July 2019, Traffic Police organised the RoadSense Carnival at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza.
The inaugural RoadSense Carnival was graced by Mr Amrin Amin, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Home Affairs & Ministry of Health. The event’s theme was ‘Take the Road to Responsibility’, and this event was organised to educate road users in Singapore about the importance of graciousness to create a more pleasant road user experience for all Singaporeans.
More than 3,600 people attended the event to learn about road safety through a line-up of fun and engaging games and activities. Traffic Police also launched eight characters, known as “The Responsibles”, to reinforce the need for a shared and collective sense of responsibility for our actions on the roads in Singapore. 2020 - Road Safety Month launched as Singapore reopens, Singapore News. The eighth Singapore Road Safety Month was launched on Tuesday, with traffic expected to increase as Singapore entered the first phase of its post-circuit breaker reopening. Posters and banners will be put up in trains and at bus shelters and lamp posts during the month-long campaign to remind pedestrians to "ensure that all vehicles have come to a stop before crossing" and motorists to "slow down when approaching traffic lights". First-prize winners of a road safety art competition in March will have their works printed on ez-link cards for distribution.
Although mainly located in the heartland and areas near schools, banners will be displayed - for the first time - in private residential estates in Bukit Timah, said the police and the Singapore Road Safety Council. The campaign is jointly organised by the two, together with the Land Transport Authority, Ministry of Education, People's Association and Automobile Association of Singapore. Road Safety Tips. A safe road journey cannot be taken for granted!
Like Gracious Joseph, remember to always exercise patience and graciousness. Stay alert, drive carefully and follow traffic rules, signs, and signals.