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. If found to be effective, the pilot initiatives will be implemented at more sites.

So far, two of the road safety measures, which help to make pedestrian crossings more conspicuous for motorists, were found to be effective. LTA will expand the roll-out of Dashed Pedestrian Crossing Lines (DPCL) and Pedestrian Crossing Ahead Markings (PCAM), 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 started for these six roads and all pedestrian crossings along these roads will come with DPCL by 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 to the stop lines also increased significantly by 7%.

LTA has identified six suitable pedestrian crossings and will be putting in PCAM at these crossings by 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.

The Cornwall County Council and Scotland in the UK use similar markings which are usually applied along rural roads before speed change gateways. Research by Transportation Research Laboratory (TRL) has proven that such markings are effective in reducing the mean speeds of vehicles by 8 to 11 kph.

LTA plans to extend the measure to locations where there are recurrent speeding problems, if the pilot is successful.

'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.

In the past five years, the UK, USA and Korea have been using YSS and many of their before-and-after studies have shown positive results that such signs are effective in reducing motorists' speeds.

The LTA will continue to monitor the remaining pilot initiatives to evaluate their effectiveness. Before-and-after studies as well as perception surveys with motorists and road users will be carried out as part of the evaluation process.

"We are pleased that the LTA is constantly looking into ways to make our roads safer. However, good hardware alone will not work without the appropriate heartware. We urge motorists to be gracious, considerate and mindful of other road users - watch out for the vulnerable groups like pedestrians and motorcyclists," said Mr Tan Jin Thong, President of the NSCS.

"We are pleased that the new road safety measures have proved to be effective in alerting motorists of pedestrian crossings ahead of them and enhancing safety for pedestrians. We urge motorists to exercise vigilance and patience to make our roads safer for all to use. The LTA will work with the Traffic Police to continue enforcing against errant motorists who beat the red light or fail to give way to pedestrians at zebra crossings. Pedestrians must also play their part and refrain from dangerous acts like jaywalking," said Mr Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive, LTA.

Last Updated: 3 April 2009