Heavy vehicle drivers in hot seat
Around 45 per cent of the heavy vehicle drivers found to be at fault in accidents in the last five years were foreigners, said Mr Amrin Amin, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Mr Amrin said the group included work permit and S Pass holders.
Over the last five years, there was an average of 791 injuries and 39 fatal accidents involving heavy vehicles, including buses and goods vehicles.
In response to Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Joan Pereira's question about the competencies of foreign drivers, Mr Amrin pointed out that since January last year, foreign vocational drivers are required to obtain a Singapore driving licence within six months of the issuance of their work pass, compared to one year previously.
The licence will also have to be renewed every five years.
In response to Non-Constituency MP Dennis Tan's question if driver fatigue had been identified as a cause for accidents, Mr Amrin said the main causes were failure to keep a proper lookout, give way to traffic and maintain proper control.
He said: "This may have been a result of fatigue but it may also be other factors, and that is where we have to target on a holistic basis."
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