If you drive or ride in Singapore, you might sometimes unintentionally or unknowingly commit a traffic offence.
Singapore takes traffic offences seriously and often issues either composite fines, or together with demerit points to the perpetrator.
In this article, we will examine the different types of traffic offences in Singapore such as speeding, running a red light and reckless driving habits.
At the same time, we will look into the Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS) which is a scheme implemented by the Traffic Police to track infractions and penalise repeat offenders.
Table of Contents
What is Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS)?
The Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS) was introduced in Singapore on the 1st of March 1983 and is better known as the demerit points system.
Enforced by the Traffic Police, this system serves as a way to monitor and manage errant drivers. The system assigns demerit points for any traffic violation committed, and these points only decrease with time if no further offences are committed.
Every driver in Singapore starts with 0 points and if a driver accumulates enough demerit points, they will be liable for further action involving fines and potential license suspensions or revocations.
With good driving behaviour, drivers may be awarded incentives such as remission of suspension period and expungement of previous records and demerit points.
Road Traffic (Driver Improvement Points System) Rules
Demerit points are given from a list of scheduled offences under the Road Traffic (DIPS) Rules listed in the table below.
When the number of demerit points accumulated reaches a certain threshold, drivers may get their Singapore driving license suspended.
- For non-probationary motorists with no previous suspension records with the Traffic Police:
The driving license will be liable for a first suspension of 12 weeks when a driver accumulates 24 or more demerit points within a period of 24 months. - For non-probationary motorists with previous suspension records with the Traffic Police:
The driving licence will be liable for subsequent suspensions of up to 36 months when a driver accumulate 12 or more demerit points within 12 consecutive months. - For new or probationary motorists (P-platers): The driving licence will be revoked and become invalid after accumulating 13 or more demerit points during the probationary period of 1 year. The licence holder will need to retake both the Traffic Police Theory and Practice Exam in order to obtain a new licence to drive/ride again. The driving tests can only be retaken one year from the date of their license revocation.
Note: If the suspension period is longer than one year, the driver’s license will become invalid and revoked. To obtain a new license, the driver would have to go through all the necessary tests again.
How to shorten my driving license suspension period?
Motorists liable for a 1st or 2nd suspension of their driving license will be given the opportunity to shorten their suspension period by taking and passing a retraining course. The course is designed to help them improve their driving behaviours in order to reduce their risk of getting into further trouble.
- For 1st suspension, the suspension period will be reduced from 12 weeks to 4 weeks. If none of their traffic offences leading to their 1st suspension was involved in traffic accident, their suspension period will be further reduced to 1 week
- For 2nd suspension, it will be reduced from 24 weeks to 12 weeks
- No offer of retraining course and remission for 3rd and subsequent suspensions
| Level of Suspensions | Period of Suspension | Criteria for Suspension | Maximum Remission Allowed | Balance Period Of Suspension After Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Suspension | 12 weeks | 24 points or more within 24 months | 8 weeks (after passing retraining) | 4 weeks or 1 week (If none of the traffic offences leading to the 1st suspension was involved in a traffic accident) |
| 2nd Suspension | 24 weeks | 12 points or more within 12 months | 12 weeks (after passing retraining) | 12 weeks |
| 3rd Suspension | 12 months | 12 points or more within 12 months | 0 | 12 months (Licence revoked) |
| 4th Suspension | 24 months | 12 points or more within 12 months | 0 | 24 months (Licence revoked) |
| 5th Suspension and onwards | 36 months | 12 points or more within 12 months | 0 | 36 months (Licence revoked) |
How do I remove my demerit points?
In order to have all demerit points wiped from your driving record, you need to go 12 months without any scheduled offences. You can check the total demerit point accumulated and any existing suspension records at the Singapore Traffic Police website.
Likewise, if you have received suspensions in the past, you can also have these removed from your record after 24 months of no further suspensions. This means that after this period of time, you will be treated as a driver with no prior suspension record.
Some car insurance companies provide extra incentives to drivers who can demonstrate they have been driving safely and responsibly.
Deducting of demerit points after completion of Safe Driving Course (SDC)
Motorists will also be offered a chance to reduce their demerit points after the completion of the Safe Driving Course (SDC).
Eligible motorists who have accumulated half or more of their maximum allowable demerit points will receive a letter of notification from the Traffic Police to attend the SDC.
4 demerit points will be deducted for motorists upon successful completion of both the theory and practical training. Deduction of demerit points is subject to and under the jurisdiction of Traffic Police.
Motorists can attend the Safe Driving Course (SDC) at any of the three licensed driving schools:
Note: Eligible motorists can attempt the SDC twice in any ten-year window, subject to a gap of at least one year between SDC attempts.
Will my traffic offence conviction leave a criminal record?
Most minor traffic violations in Singapore according to the Road Traffic Act (RTA) are considered non-registrable offences, meaning that they won’t appear on your criminal record even if you are convicted.
However, the more serious offences, such as those involving death, injury or damage to public property, may be prosecuted under criminal law, leading to a conviction and possibly a criminal record.
Full Singapore traffic offences list with demerit points and composite fines
Let’s now find out the types of traffic offences in Singapore that carry demerit points and composite fines. For your information, a composition fine is the exchange of monetary payment to the authorities in order to avoid prosecution in the court of law.
Under the DIPS, demerit points are given for the following list of scheduled offences under the Road Traffic (DIPS) Rules.
No Demerit Points with Composite Fines of $100/$150
| Road/Traffic Offences Committed | Dermit Points | Composition Fine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | ||
| Stopping in a yellow box | – | S$100 | S$150 |
| Insufficient warning signals | – | S$100 | S$150 |
| Making an unauthorised U-turn | – | S$100 | S$150 |
| Vehicles with a 60km/hr vehicular speed limit failing to keep left | – | S$100 | S$150 |
3 Demerit Points with Composite Fines of $150/$200
| Road/Traffic Offences Committed | Dermit Points | Composition Fine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | ||
| Carrying excess pillion or carrying pillion sitting not astride | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Rider failing to wear or wear insecurely on his head a protective helmet | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Rider driving where a pillion is not wearing securely on his or her head a protective helmet | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Disobeying traffic direction of police officer, employee of Authority or security officer engaged in regulating traffic | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Conveying load not properly secured | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Using tyres with ply or cord carcass exposed | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Driver failing to wear seat belt | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Parking abreast of another vehicle | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Stopping in a zebra controlled area | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Driver failing to ensure that every passenger wears a seat belt | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Using a motor vehicle where a person below 1.35 metres in height is a passenger and is not properly secured by an approved child restraint or a body-restraining seat belt | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
Parking within a Demerit Points No Parking Zone | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Stopping within a Demerit Points No Stopping Zone | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Failing to fill up every passenger seat in driver’s cabin, or any additional cabin or enclosed space provided for the carriage of passengers or goods and which is adjacent to or is an extension of the cabin for the driver, before carrying any person on the floor of open deck goods vehicle | 3 | S$150 | S$200 |
4 Demerit Points with Composite Fines of $150/$200
| Road/Traffic Offences Committed | Dermit Points | Composition Fine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | ||
| Exceeding speed limit for vehicle by 1 to 20 kilometres per hour | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Exceeding speed limit on a road by 1 to 20 kilometres per hour | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Failing to give way to oncoming traffic at controlled junction | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Failing to give way at uncontrolled junction | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Failing to give way at junction | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Failing to give way at roundabout | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Crossing double white lines | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Crossing road divider | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Obstructing flow of traffic | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Forming up incorrectly when turning left or right | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Failing to give way to ambulance, fire brigade or police vehicle | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
Driving while carrying load on a motor vehicle in a dangerous manner | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Stopping on the shoulder or verge of an expressway | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
| Stopping or remaining at rest on the carriage way of expressway | 4 | S$150 | S$200 |
6 Demerit Points with Composite Fines of $200/$250
| Road/Traffic Offences Committed | Dermit Points | Composition Fine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | ||
| Exceeding speed limit for vehicle by 21 to 30 kilometres per hour | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Exceeding speed limit on a road by 21 to 30 kilometres per hour | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Driving on the shoulder of an expressway | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Failing to securely tie or attach goods to a goods vehicle to prevent their falling off from the vehicle | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Offences committed by motorists at pedestrian crossing | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Driving or riding against the flow of traffic as indicated by traffic signs | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Driving without due care or reasonable consideration (where no hurt is caused) aka Careless driving | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Carrying passengers on a motor vehicle or trailer in a dangerous manner | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Reversing unnecessarily along an expressway | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Failing to obey 1.1 metre height restriction for persons carried on open deck goods vehicle | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
| Carrying passengers when the clear floor space of the open deck of goods vehicle available for each passenger is insufficient | 6 | S$200 | S$250 |
8 Demerit Points with Composite Fines of $300/$400
| Road/Traffic Offences Committed | Dermit Points | Composition Fine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | ||
| Exceeding speed limit for vehicle by 31 to 40 kilometres per hour | 8 | S$300 | S$400 |
| Exceeding speed limit on a road by 31 to 40 kilometres per hour | 8 | S$300 | S$400 |
9 Demerit Points with Composite Fines of S$300/S$400
| Road/Traffic Offences Committed | Dermit Points | Composition Fine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | ||
| Driving without due care or reasonable consideration (where hurt is caused) | 9 | S$300 | S$400 |
| Carrying passengers on a goods vehicle in a dangerous manner | 9 | S$300 | S$400 |
12 and More Demerit Points with Composite Fines or Court Prosecution
| Road/Traffic Offences Committed | Dermit Points | Composition Fine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | ||
| Exceeding speed limit for vehicle by 41 to 50 kilometres per hour | 12 | Prosecution in court | Prosecution in court |
| Exceeding speed limit on a road by 41 to 50 kilometres per hour | 12 | Prosecution in court | Prosecution in court |
Failing to conform to traffic light signals | 12 | S$400 | S$500 |
| Use of mobile communication devices while driving | 12 | 1st offence: Fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment of up to 6 months or both 2nd offence: Fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months or both | 1st offence: Fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment of up to 6 months or both 2nd offence: Fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months or both |
| Exceeding speed limit for vehicle by 51 to 60 kilometres per hour | 18 | Prosecution in court | Prosecution in court |
| Exceeding speed limit on a road by 51 to 60 kilometres per hour | 18 | Prosecution in court | Prosecution in court |
| Exceeding speed limit for vehicle by more than 60 kilometres per hour | 24 | Prosecution in court | Prosecution in court |
| Exceeding speed limit on a road by more than 60 kilometres per hour | 24 | Prosecution in court | Prosecution in court |
| Reckless or dangerous driving | 24 | Prosecution in court | Prosecution in court |
Singapore Traffic Offences Within Silver and School Zones
To protect seniors and school children when they are walking on the roads, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has increased demerit points and fines for the specified traffic offences committed in Silver Zones and School Zones since 1 July 2021.
These zones can be identified by road markings, special blue signs and improved safety features such as speed bumps and pedestrian crossings.
For any traffic law offences committed in these areas, motorists will be given two extra demerit points on top of the initial ones, plus a S$100 hike in composite fines.
| Road/Traffic Offences Committed | Demerit Points Within School Zone or Silver Zone (+2 Points) | Composition Fines when Committed Within Silver Zone of School Zone (+$100) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicle | Heavy Vehicle | ||
| Disobeying traffic direction of police officer, employee of Authority or security officer engaged in regulating traffic | Total 5 | Total: S$250 | Total: S$300 |
| Forming up incorrectly when turning left or right | Total 6 | Total: S$250 | Total: S$300 |
| Failing to give way to oncoming traffic at controlled junction | Total 6 | Total: S$250 | Total: S$300 |
| Failing to give way at uncontrolled junction | Total 6 | Total: S$250 | Total: S$300 |
| Failing to give way at a junction of a one way road where traffic flows from left to right | Total 6 | Total: S$250 | Total: S$300 |
| Failing to give way on the right at junction | Total 6 | Total: S$250 | Total: S$300 |
| Failing to give way at roundabout | Total 6 | Total: S$250 | Total: S$300 |
| Crossing double white lines | Total 6 | Total: S$250 | Total: S$300 |
| Crossing road divider | Total 6 | Total: S$250 | Total: S$300 |
| Driving or riding against the flow of traffic | Total 8 | Total: S$300 | Total: S$350 |
| Driving without due care or reasonable consideration for other road users (where no hurt is caused) | Total 8 | Total: S$300 | Total: S$350 |
| Failing to give way to pedestrian, cyclist, mobility vehicle user or PMD rider at pedestrian crossing while turning | Total 8 | Total: S$300 | Total: S$350 |
| Failing to slow vehicle down before reaching a pedestrian crossing | Total 8 | Total: S$300 | Total: S$350 |
| Failing to give way to pedestrian, cyclist, mobility vehicle user or PMD rider at uncontrolled crossing | Total 8 | Total: S$300 | Total: S$350 |
| Failing to give way to pedestrian, cyclist, mobility vehicle user or PMD rider at controlled crossing | Total 8 | Total: S$300 | Total: S$350 |
| Driving without due care or reasonable consideration for other road users (where no hurt is caused) | Total 11 | Total: S$400 | Total: S$500 |
| Using a mobile communication device while driving | Total 14 | Total: S$500 | Total: S$500 |
| Failing to conform to traffic light signals | Total 14 | Total: S$500 | Total: S$500 |
| Speeding | Total: 6 – 24* | Due to the severity of the offence, the motorist will be prosecuted in Court and will not be offered composition. | Due to the severity of the offence, the motorist will be prosecuted in Court and will not be offered composition. |
*The number of demerit points for the offence of speeding depends on how much the motorist exceeded the speed limit by. Motorists who exceed the speed limit by a greater margin are liable for higher demerit points. Motorists who incur 24 demerit points or above instantly face licence suspension.
Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are vehicles with a maximum laden weight (MLW) from 3,501kg to 16,000kg.
How do I pay for my traffic fines in Singapore?
If you’ve been issued with a traffic fine, you can pay it in several ways. You can log on to the Singapore Police Force website (SingPass login required) and pay with your card, use an AXS machine or AXS station, or pay through the Land Transport Authority’s OneMotoring portal.
How to avoid getting traffic fines and demerit points?
If you want to stay out of trouble with the law and keep your wallet unharmed, one of the best ways to avoid traffic demerit points and fines is by abiding by the laws. Practicing safe, courteous driving and being mindful at all times on the road is essential for avoiding any unfortunate circumstances.
Of course, if you really want to be 100% sure, you could always just not drive and sell your car in Singapore – but that might be a bit extreme!
Hopefully, you’ll stay out of trouble with the law and if you’re tired of driving or have any reason to sell your vehicle, consider using Carnsap.
What are traffic offences in Singapore?
Traffic offences are illegal behaviour that disrupts traffic and can lead to fines, license suspension or even jail time. Common types of traffic offences include speeding, illegal parking, reckless driving and a range of other activities such as running red lights or driving without wearing seatbelt. If you have committed one of these violations, you will likely be issued a ticket by the Traffic Police or Land Transport Authority (LTA).
What is the No 1 traffic violation in Singapore?
One of the most common traffic offences is driving under the influence (DUI) or drink driving. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs puts yourself and others on the road in serious danger, leading to increased risk of traffic accidents, fatal injuries, and even death. If caught, DUI can result in heavy fines, suspension of driver’s license, and even jail time.
Can I still drive with 24 demerit points in Singapore?
No. If you accumulate 24 or more demerit points within 24 consecutive months, your driving licence will be suspended for 3 months. Repeat offenders will have their driving licence suspended as soon as they hit 12 demerit points in 12 months.
Is traffic offence a criminal offence in Singapore?
In Singapore, there are two categories of traffic offences according to the Road Traffic Act (RTA). Minor violations such as illegal parking or speeding will not appear on your criminal record, but more serious traffic offences that lead to death, injury, or damage to public property will be subject to criminal prosecution.
