Motorists and pedestrians alike will benefit from a series of new initiatives to enhance road safety, as outlined in the recently unveiled Land Transport Masterplan.

The four initiatives, namely the 'dashed pedestrian crossing lines', 'pedestrian crossing ahead markings', 'traffic calming markings' and 'your speed sign', have been implemented at selected locations to test their effectiveness. This is part of LTA's continual efforts to make our roads safer for all users.

So far, all the four road safety initiatives were found to be effective. LTA will expand the roll-out of these initiatives to more locations.

Drivers' behaviours were surveyed during the pilot to monitor the effectiveness of the dashed lines. 77% of the motorists interviewed found the dash lines provide a better contrast against the continuous stop line for vehicles. The proportion of motorists overshooting the stop line also dropped significantly from 15% to 9%.

The DPCL will be implemented progressively, starting with pedestrian crossings along six roads within the Central Business District (CBD), namely:

Works have already been completed for these six roads and all pedestrian crossings along these roads have been implemented with DPCL in June 2009. All other pedestrian crossings within the CBD will come with the DPCL by 2011 and the rest of the island by 2014.

The DPCL also helps the visually impaired who are able to detect the broken lines with their walking sticks, which helps to guide them across the pedestrian crossing. This initiative has also been implemented in cities such as Brisbane, Australia and London, United Kingdom, where it has shown good results.

Motorists have been observed not to give way to pedestrians at zebra crossings that are located after a bend, despite advance warnings provided by existing safety features such as signboards, zig-zag lines and flashing beacons with black/yellow poles on site.

The proposed Pedestrian Crossing Ahead Markings are one form of advanced road markings used to enhance the safety of pedestrians at zebra crossings. The markings are similar to 'Give Way' signs as they are triangular in shape and are marked in white for heightened visibility. They come in pairs, with the second marking serving as a reminder in case motorists miss the first PCAM.

LTA's monitoring and perception surveys conducted with drivers have showed that generally, the measure has been effective in influencing motorists' behaviours as they approach pedestrian crossings. 52% of motorists interviewed found the PCAM effective in warning them of the zebra crossing ahead. There are significant decreases in motorists' speeds by 7-11%. The proportion of motorists complying the stop lines also increased significantly by 7%.

LTA has identified six suitable pedestrian crossings and has implemented PCAM at these crossings in March 2009:

• Claymore Hill beside American Club
• Clemenceau Avenue turning into Oxley Rise
• Commonwealth Avenue turning into North Buona Vista Road
• Outside Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre
• TPE (SLE) into Punggol Road
• Tampines Avenue 10 into TPE (SLE)

LTA will continue to evaluate other zebra crossings for future PCAM implementation.

'Traffic calming markings' consist of a series of paired white triangles which gives motorists the impression that the road is narrower. They serve as traffic calming markings to slow motorists down and complement existing traffic calming measures such as slow markings, humps and speed regulating strips.

LTA has observed that overall speeds have decreased by 10% at the pilot locations. About 64% of those surveyed found these markings effective in influencing them to slow down.

LTA has extended the use of TrCM, starting with six locations in August 2009 at:

• Ghim Moh Road near Blk 14
• Whitley Road towards PIE (Tuas) near CJC
• Lentor Road near the junction of Lentor Loop/Lentor Road
• Upper East Coast Road near Parbury Avenue
• BKE (Woodlands) - Bukit Panjang exit
• Woodlands Avenue 6

It will also be extended to other locations where this form of traffic calming measure is appropriate.

'Your Speed Sign' is a dynamic electronic device that displays the real time speeds of vehicles and alerts motorists that they are speeding. It serves to encourage motorists to obey the speed limit displayed, thereby enhancing safety on the roads.

LTA has observed that about 12% more motorists have been keeping to the speed limits at the pilot locations. 72% of motorists surveyed also feedback that the YSS is effective in helping them moderate their driving speeds at these locations.

YSS will now be part of LTA's range of measures used to improve the safety of roads in accident-prone areas. It will be extended to PIE (Tuas) - Clementi Ave 6 exit by December 2009.

The LTA will continue to study and explore new road safety initiatives to provide a safer environment for all our road users.

Last Updated: 16 October 2009