According to the police, the number of jaywalking cases has increased. The figures went up from 1,758 between January and March last year, to 2,409 during the same period this year.
In addition, police statistics revealed that 44 pedestrians were killed last year. The number was 49 in 2011.
"Pedestrians are a vulnerable group of road users. They are likely to sustain serious or fatal injuries if they encounter a traffic accident. Hence, they must never even attempt to jaywalk," said police spokesman Lam Sin How.
The Singapore Road Safety Council (SRSC) said pedestrians form the second largest group of road traffic fatalities behind motorcyclists and pillion riders.
The Straits Times recently spent two days observing traffic at 20 junctions and crossings here, including four-lane double carriage ways, cross junctions and T-junctions.
Out of more than 5,000 pedestrians observed, close to 500 of them - nearly one in 10 - were spotted jaywalking. Sixteen near-accidents were also observed, resulting from lack of attention on either the part of the motorist or pedestrian.
Besides jaywalking, three other road hazards that The Straits Times observed were cyclists who did not dismount when crossing the road, risky behaviour from parents and children, and pedestrians being distracted by their mobile phones.
