Ridiculous (?reckless?) driver ask for special privileges in Driver's Improvement Po

[bic_cherry]

3 posts from an adjacent forum, but relevant here too...

Ridiculous (?reckless?) driver ask for special privileges in Driver's Improvement Point System (DIPs).

Straits Times; Published on Oct 23, 2012
My Point
Expunge demerit points after three months
AS MANY people need to drive as part of their work, I hope that the Traffic Police can consider expunging demerit points after three months instead of a year.
Motorists are already punished with a monetary fine, but still have to wait for 12 months for the demerit points to be zero again.
Three months is a reasonable time for a motorist to reflect on the traffic offence committed.
Chan Ban Choon
My Point

Already he is fortunate that the TP will reduce his demerit points to zero in lieu of a clean driving record for 12 months, and suspension ONLY if he receives not less than 24 points in 24 months (non-probationary drivers).

E.g. If Mr Chan Ban Choon gets 18 pts (e.g. Exceeding speed limit for road/ vehicle by more than 50 km/h up to 60km/h) on 01June2010, but has a clean driving record up till 01June2011, Mr Chan would be free to commit another 18point traffic violation on 02June2011 (sum total of 36points in 1yr and 1day) without breaking the suspension threshold of 24 demerit points in 24 months.

Yet this is still not lenient enough for Mr Chan Ban Choon who thinks that 3 months is enough for him to "reflect on the traffic offence committed".

May I kindly suggest that specially for Mr Chan Ban Choon, the TP should IMPOSE a suspension threshold of 3 demerit points every 3 months, and the moment Mr Chan hits 3 demerit points, Mr Chan's license is IMMEDIATELY suspended/ revoked (a special 3 monthly purging of demerit points not withstanding).

(BTW, there are no demerit point offences attracting lesser than 3 demerit points)

If Mr Chan is unable to operate his motor vehicle on roads safely and without the committal of traffic offences totaling 24 points in 24 months, despite the generous offer of a pristine record for 12 months of safe driving, than Mr Chan had better considering either public transport or the use of a bicycle as part of his work commute.

Info source:
Information - Driver's Improvement Point System (DIPs) [Singapore Police Force].

 

[bic_cherry]

Very strange TP 12month 'safe driving'= all points purged rule.

Very strange TP 12month 'safe driving'= all points purged rule.

From REACH website: Ridiculous (?reckless?) driver ask for special privileges in Driver's Improvement Point System (DIPs).
i think the current system is already too lenient. there is absolutely no reason to accumulate 12 points or more in a year. i can understand a one off speeding offence of 3 to 6 points as an accident but if you collect more points in a year, it shows a systemic dangerous driving behavior.
the only way to hit hard at such habitual offenders is to translate it into monetary benefits or costs. for example we can apply the insurance method of no claims discount. 0 years no offence: 200% of road tax
1 year offence free: 180% of road tax
2 year offence free: 160% of road tax
3 year offence free: 140% of road tax
4 year offence free: 120% of road tax
5 year offence free: 100% of road tax
on fifth year you pay the proper amount of road tax.
it would also encourage new drivers to drive carefully after getting their license.
so it would be in everyone's interest to maintain 5 years of no offences.

Funny thing is that they purge your demerit points after 12 mths safe record, so although they say that one may be suspended if one accumulates 24 points or more in 24 months, one can 'safely' accumulate 23 points in 1 day, stay out of trouble for 1 year, then commit another 23 points worth of offences without getting suspended (46points in 1year+2days- without getting suspended due to the 12 month 'safe record points-purge' system)... perhaps this is why we have people volunteering to own up to the offences of others in lieu of a bribe.

Dunno the rationale for the 1yr safe driver point purge system as it seems an unnecessary and contradictory supplement to the the '24 points in 24 months=auto suspension rule'.

So now its better to accumulate more points in one shot than to have overall poor driving?

What's the logic?

To favor Singaporeans or foreigners who stay overseas for prolonged periods of time but drive recklessly in Singapore on the few occasions that they are back?

Perhaps there was once a politician who'd accumulated 23points in 1 day and was afraid to lose his license in case he committed and offense in the next 2 years, so he asked TP to amend its law so that after 1 year of self imposed suspension, walla- he'd drive again with a pristine clean driving record... who knows?

The manner in which the current policy is skewed to benefit binge law breakers really puzzles me.

 

[bic_cherry]

Suggested improvement to Driver's Improvement Points System (DIPS)

Suggested improvement to Driver's Improvement Points System (DIPS)

Re Thread: Ridiculous (?reckless?) driver ask for special privileges in Driver's Improvement Point System (DIPs
Very strange TP 12month 'safe driving'= all points purged rule....

So i wonder, you have a better system to propose? :s11:

Hi Mod,

Me thinks that we should firstly: KEEP the suspension threshold at 24 pts in 24 months as is the current practice, with the first suspension ranging from 1 to 3 months (depending on driver cooperation with retraining regimes).

However, the 12month clean record all points purged rule has no place in the programme as it not only confuses matters, but also gives drivers the confidence to break traffic rules since they all know that just 1 yr of safe records is sufficient to purge all demerit points ('1yr points purge scheme')- are the traffic police (TP) computers soo advanced that they need to do these unnecessary calculations (thus my suspicion of political interference).
In short, it would be more proper for demerit points to be purged consistently after 2 years and discard the unnecessary interference of the 1yr purge system.

Why a person collecting 23 points in one day at intervals of 1 year between (amounting to 115points over 5years and 5 days) shouldn't be suspended (due to the '1yr points purge scheme') as compared to someone with evenly distributed points (due to not enjoying the '1yr points purge scheme') but quickly suspended eludes me.

A summary of my proposed changes is as follows:

[Info source:Information - Driver's Improvement Point System (DIPs) ]

BTW, the TP's own chart is self contradictory, mistake spotted:

[Info source:Information - Driver's Improvement Point System (DIPs) ]

PS: Reason for this online rant?
TP website said call 6547 0000 during office hours for inquiries, after listening to all the automated operator directed crap, they ask U to dial 65476112 or 6113 regarding the DIPs...called both numbers... and nobody even bothers to pick up the phone... call this public policy decision making? Sounds like sleeping on the job to me- the people in charge were probably chit-chatting over coffee.

Anyway, its all on the REACH forum [link] so they cannot say that I didn't try to tell them in the first place...

 

[YanDao]

Re: Suggested improvement to Driver's Improvement Points System (DIPS)

Traffic police dun bother bout anything except clearing their investigation paper.

 

[jaycube]

Re: Suggested improvement to Driver's Improvement Points System (DIPS)

Traffic is the big problem in big cities and lots of governments are finding the way to short traffic problems.