Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2002 - Singapore Statutes Online

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REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE

ACTS SUPPLEMENT

Published by Authority

NO. 18]

Friday, August 16

[2002

The following Act was passed by Parliament on 23rd July 2002 and assented to by the President on 5th August 2002:—

Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2002

(No. 21 of 2002)

I assent.

S R NATHAN,

President.

5th August 2002.

Date of Commencement: 16th December 2002

Date of Commencement: 1st September 2002

An Act to amend the Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276 of the 1997 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2002 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 35

2. Section 35 of the Road Traffic Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by deleting subsection (7) and substituting the following subsections:

“(7) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules, unless earlier revoked or surrendered —

(a)	a driving licence or a renewal thereof granted to a person who is a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore shall remain in force for the lifetime of that person; and
(b)	a driving licence or a renewal thereof granted to a person who is not a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore shall remain in force for a period not exceeding 5 years from the date of such grant.

(7A) Subsection (7) shall not apply to a provisional licence referred to in section 36(3).

(7B) In subsection (7), “permanent resident” means a person who is not subject to any restriction as to his period of residence in Singapore imposed under the Immigration Act (Cap. 133).”; and

(b)

by deleting the words “for a period of one year only notwithstanding that the applicant has elected to renew it for 3 years” in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines of subsection (8) and substituting the words “for a period shorter than that provided for in subsection (7)(a) or (b)”.

Amendment of section 37

3. Section 37 of the principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after subsection (8), the following subsection:

“(9) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules, a driving licence or a renewal thereof referred to in section 35(7)(a) or (b) shall cease to be valid when the licence holder attains any of the prescribed ages, unless he has, before attaining such age, undergone the prescribed medical examination and is duly certified by a medical practitioner as being fit to drive a motor vehicle.”.

Amendment of section 45

4. Section 45 of the principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after subsection (8), the following subsection:

“(9) In addition to the power conferred on the Deputy Commissioner of Police by subsection (1), if a person who holds a driving licence —

(a)	fails to comply with any process of court issued against him in respect of any offence committed by him under this Act or the rules or any written law specified in Part II of the First Schedule; or
(b)	is arrested under a warrant of court in connection with an offence under this Act or the rules or any written law specified in Part II of the First Schedule and the offence has not been tried and determined by the court,

the Deputy Commissioner of Police may, as he thinks fit, suspend the driving licence held by that person until he is satisfied that that person has complied with the process of court referred to in paragraph (a) or until the offence referred to in paragraph (b) has been tried and determined by the court, as the case may be.”.

Amendment of section 47

5. Section 47(3) of the principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the word “and”, the words “, in the case only of a driving licence suspended under section 45(1),”.

Amendment of section 47C

6. Section 47C of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately after subsection (1A), the following subsection:

“(1B) Where a person drives a motor vehicle on a road or other public place and whilst so driving causes any serious injury or death to another person and thereafter fails to render any assistance as required under section 84(3), the Deputy Commissioner of Police may, where the first-mentioned person is charged for the offence under section 84(6) for failing to comply with section 84(3), suspend his driving licence from the date on which he is first charged for the offence, and the suspension shall remain in force until the offence is tried and determined by a court.”; and

(b)

by deleting the words “subsection (1) or (1A)” in the 2nd line of subsection (2) and substituting the words “subsection (1), (1A) or (1B)”.

Amendment of section 62A

7. Section 62A of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “Subject to subsection (2), a person” in the 1st line of subsection (1) and substituting the words “A person”; and
(b)	by deleting subsections (2) and (3).

Amendment of section 84

8. Section 84 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “subsection (3)” in the 1st line of subsection (7) and substituting the words “subsection (6) arising from his failure to comply with subsection (3)”;

(b)

by inserting, immediately after subsection (7), the following subsection:

“(7A) Where a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (6) arising from his failure to comply with subsection (3), the court convicting him shall —

(a)	if satisfied that he had in driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle at the time of the accident referred to in subsection (3) caused any serious injury or death to another person; and
(b)	unless the court for special reasons thinks fit to order otherwise,

make an order disqualifying him from holding or obtaining a driving licence —

(i)	for a period of not less than 12 months from the date of his conviction or, where he is sentenced to imprisonment, from the date of his release from prison; or
(ii)	for such longer period as the court thinks fit.”;

(c)

by deleting paragraph (b) of subsection (8) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(b)	an offence under subsection (6) arising from his failure to comply with subsection (3),”; and

(d)

by inserting, immediately after subsection (8), the following subsection:

“(9) Any police officer may arrest without warrant any person who is reasonably suspected of having failed to comply with subsection (3).”.

Savings

9. This Act shall not affect any driving licence which was granted or renewed before the date of commencement of this Act and which, on that date remains in force, and the relevant provisions of the principal Act in force immediately before that date shall continue to apply to such a driving licence until its expiration, as if this Act had not been enacted.

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