Singapore to penalise drivers holding mobile phones, lower alcohol limits, tighten penalties with new law

Singapore’s ministry of home affairs (MHA) is aiming to reduce traffic fatality rates in the country with the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, which is set for its first reading in parliament today. According to the ministry, traffic fatality rates in Singapore increased by about 24% between 2021 and 2025, while traffic violations rose by about 38%. The new law, when passed, serves to address the issue by tightening enforcement and penalties for traffic offences.

One of the amendments listed by the MHA include increasing the maximum imprisonment penalty for first-time offenders convicted of dangerous driving causing grievous hurt from the current five years to seven years. Repeat offenders will see 13 years instead of 10 years previously, while those guilty of careless driving causing grievous hurt will face imprisonment of either two years (first-time offender) or four years (repeat offenders), both unchanged from before.

Should the driver be found guilty of committing dangerous or careless driving while drink driving, they will face additional penalties on top of those mentioned above. With the revision, they face an additional 18 months in jail (previously one year), while repeat offenders face an additional three years and six months.

The ministry is also lowering prescribed alcohol limits to determine drink driving, with the limit for breath tests set to be revised to 15 micrograms of alcohol per 100 ml (previously 35 micrograms), while it is 30 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml (previously 80 milligrams) for blood tests. For context, Malaysia’s prescribed alcohol limits are 22 micrograms per 100 ml for breath, 50 mg per 100 ml of blood and 67 mg per 100 ml of urine.

“No one accidentally drinks and drives,” the MHA said in its release, and the tightened alcohol limits are said to bring Singapore in line with comparable jurisdictions such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. Another amendment involves the breath test process so that the result recorded immediately at the scene is used as evidence.

Before this, traffic police officers that suspect a driver of drink-driving will first carry out a preliminary breath test at the scene before administering an evidential grade breath test at the police lockup. The ministry explains that the change is necessary as the time difference between the two tests can result in a lower alcohol reading than the actual level at the time of driving.

On a related note, the Bill introduces a new offence of driving with the presence of controlled drugs, intoxicating substances or psychoactive substances detected in a driver’s blood specimen. Leeway is given if the driver consumed the drugs according to a legal prescription for medical purposes, and the driver did not know that such consumption might impair driving.

Another area that sees revision involves mobile phones. “Today, making out an offence of using a mobile communication device while driving requires proof that the driver was operating any communicative or other functions of the device, such as texting or calling, while holding the device in his hand and driving the vehicle. This means that the offence can only be enforced manually, as officers must verify that the driver was operating the device,” the ministry said.

With the Bill, there is no longer a need to prove that the driver was operating the device. Instead, it will be an offence as long as a driver holds a mobile phone in his or her hand while the vehicle is moving. This amendment will also allow traffic police to enforce the offence using cameras or based on photographic or videographic evidence submitted by members of the public. “This change will not affect the use of mounted devices, which will not be an offence. Drivers may also hold their devices while the vehicle is stationary,” the ministry added.

In Malaysia, it is an offence to use a mobile phone while driving a vehicle unless it is used with a hands-free kit or holder. You are legally considered to be driving even when the vehicle is completely motionless, so long as you are on a public road. This includes while stopped at a red traffic light or in gridlock traffic. The offence is applicable by the physical act of holding or supporting the device with your body, the latter including placing the mobile phone on your lap.

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