Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 1985 - Singapore Statutes Online

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE

ACTS SUPPLEMENT

Published by Authority

NO. 7]

Friday, September 27

[1985

The following Act was passed by Parliament on 30th August 1985 and assented to by the President on 24th September 1985:—

Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 1985

(No. 9 of 1985)

I assent.

WEE KIM WEE

President.

24th September 1985.

Date of Commencement: 1st October 1985

An Act to amend the Road Traffic Act (Chapter 92 of the 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 1985 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 36

2. Section 36 of the Road Traffic Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by deleting subsections (1) and (2) and substituting the following subsections:

“(1) A driving licence shall not be granted to any applicant unless he passes the prescribed test of competence to drive.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Deputy Commissioner of Police may grant a driving licence to an applicant who satisfies him that at some time within 3 years before the date on which he makes the application he has held a driver’s certificate or licence issued by the competent authority in any country authorising him to drive motor vehicles of the class or description which he would be authorised to drive by the licence applied for.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), for the purpose of enabling the applicant for a driving licence to learn to drive a motor vehicle with a view to passing a test under this section, the Deputy Commissioner of Police may, if so requested by the applicant and on payment of the prescribed fee, grant to the applicant a provisional licence to be in force for a period of 6 months, which licence shall be in the prescribed form and granted subject to the prescribed conditions; and if any person to whom such a provisional licence is granted fails to comply with any of the conditions subject to which it is granted, he shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) A provisional licence to drive a motor cycle shall not be granted to any applicant after the commencement of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 1985 unless he has completed a prescribed course of training to enable him to obtain a provisional licence.”; and

(b)

by renumbering the existing subsections (3) and (4) as subsections (5) and (6), respectively.

Amendment of section 38

3. Section 38 of the principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the words “driving licence” in the second line, the words “other than a provisional licence to drive a motor cycle”.

Amendment of section 49

4. Section 49 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “the property” in the seventh line and substituting the words “in the possession”.

Amendment of section 70

5. Section 70 (1) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “section 68 or 69” in the first and second lines and substituting the words “section 68, 69 or 71A”.

Amendment of section 71

6. Section 71 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “110 milligrammes” and substituting the words “80 milligrammes”.

New section 71A

7. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 71, the following section:

“Breath tests

71A.—(1) A police officer may require any person driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place to provide forthwith a specimen of his breath for a breath test, if the police officer has reasonable cause —

(a)	to suspect him of having alcohol in his body; or
(b)	to suspect him of having committed a traffic offence while the vehicle was in motion,

but no requirement may be made by virtue of paragraph (b) unless it is made as soon as reasonably practicable after the commission of the traffic offence.

(2) If an accident occurs owing to the presence of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, a police officer may require any person who he has reasonable cause to believe was driving or attempting to drive the vehicle at the time of the accident to provide a specimen of his breath for a breath test —

(a)	except where paragraph (b) applies, either at or near the place where the requirement is made, or if the police officer thinks fit, at any police station specified by the police officer; or
(b)	if that person is at a hospital as a patient, at the hospital,

but a person shall not be required to provide a specimen while at a hospital as a patient if the medical practitioner in immediate charge of his case is not first notified of the proposal to make the requirement or objects to the provision of such specimen on the ground that its provision or the requirement to provide it would be prejudicial to the proper care or treatment of the patient.

(3) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to provide a specimen of his breath for a breath test under subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) If it appears to a police officer in consequence of a breath test carried out by him on any person under subsection (1) or (2) that the device by means of which the test is carried out indicates that the proportion of alcohol in that person’s blood exceeds the prescribed limit, the police officer may arrest that person without warrant except while that person is at a hospital as a patient.

(5) If a person required by a police officer under subsections (1) and (2) to provide a specimen of breath for a breath test fails or refuses to do so and the police officer has reasonable cause to suspect him of having alcohol in his body, the police officer may arrest him without warrant except while he is at a hospital as a patient.

(6) In this section —

“breath test” means a preliminary test for the purpose of obtaining by means of a device of a type prescribed by the Minister, an indication whether the proportion of alcohol in a person’s blood is likely to exceed the prescribed limit;

“prescribed limit” means 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.”.

Amendment of section 79

8. Section 79 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “3.2 metres” in the second line of subsection (1) and substituting the words “4.0 metres”; and

(b)

by deleting paragraph (a) of the definition of “heavy motor vehicle” in subsection (6) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(a)	a goods vehicle the weight of which unladen exceeds 2,500 kilogrammes; and”.

Amendment of section 112

9. Subsection (2) of section 112 of the principal Act is deleted and the following subsection substituted therefor:

“(2) The highway code and any revision thereof shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication.”.

Amendment of section 135

10. Section 135 (1) of the principal Act is amended by deleting “$50” at the end and substituting “$200”.

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