Huge number of traffic offences in school zones

As many as 110 errant drivers were caught running the red light in school zones in the first six months of this year alone, reported The Straits Times. That translates to an average of nearly five cases a week.

Drivers were also caught for other offences in school zones, such as speeding and tailgating. The Traffic Police gave these updates in response to queries from local paper.

Since January, road safety in school zones has been beefed up with harsher punishments, after two brothers were killed by a truck in Tampines last year.

The police did not have a breakdown of the number of offences committed within school zones before the law was toughened earlier this year.

Speeding was the second most common offence in these demarcated areas. Within the first six months of this year, 23 summonses were issued against speedsters who exceeded the 50km/h limit.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) lowered speed limits outside 10 primary schools to 40km/h in January as part of a pilot project, which will be rolled out to more schools progressively.

In the first six months of this year, there were also eight cases of inconsiderate driving and 17 instances of careless driving. Examples include tailgating and sudden lane switches.