PHP 95,700 for one traffic violation? Singapore’s riders think twice
If there’s one country known for discipline, it’s Singapore. Break the rules there and your wallet will definitely feel it. In Filipino, aaray ka talaga. So, if you think traffic fines in the Philippines are already expensive, Singapore’s latest enforcement operation shows things can get much tougher.
Authorities there recently conducted a joint enforcement operation involving the Traffic Police, Land Transport Authority (LTA), and National Environment Agency (NEA), inspecting around 300 motorcycles along Admiralty Road West in Woodlands. By the end of the operation, 35 riders had been issued fines for various traffic violations.
Among the offenses detected were riding with an invalid vehicle entry permit (VEP), displaying improper license plates, and invalid road tax and insurance.
What immediately stands out is the size of their penalties. In Singapore, riding without a valid road tax carries a penalty of SGD 2,000, or roughly PHP 95,700, or an amount 3 times the tax payable, if the offender’s proven to have intentionally evaded tax chargeable. Using a motorcycle with improper number plates and non-payment of VEP can also result in a SGD 1,000 fine (around PHP 47,800).
Compare that with the Philippines, where road tax is already bundled into a vehicle’s registration. In other words, failing to pay it means you’re essentially driving an unregistered vehicle, an offense punishable by a PHP 10,000 fine, with the vehicle also subject to impoundment until properly registered. Meanwhile, simply failing to attach or improperly attaching the authorized license plate carries a PHP 5,000 fine. More serious offenses, such as tampering with, forging, imitating, covering, or concealing a motorcycle plate, are punishable under the amended Doble Plaka Law by up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to PHP 10,000, or both.
Singapore’s approach has long relied on two things, and those are stiff penalties and strict enforcement. That also raises an interesting question for us here in the Philippines.
While the LTO has significantly stepped up its law enforcement efforts over the past several months by suspending and revoking hundreds of driver’s licenses while cracking down on reckless motorists, yet, dangerous driving or riding, road rage, and blatant traffic violations still seem to be common occurrences on our roads, as well as on social media, almost every day.
Is the problem that our penalties simply aren’t high enough? Should the Philippines consider adopting Singapore’s approach of imposing much stiffer fines backed by stricter law enforcement? Or are there just too many pasaway Pinoys on our roads? A close to a hundred thousand fine would probably make anyone think not once, not twice, but several times before deciding to break the law.
