PART I | 1. These Rules may be cited as the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules. |
2.—(1) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires —| “articulated vehicle” means a heavy motor car or a motor car with a trailer so attached to the drawing vehicle that part of the trailer is superimposed upon the drawing vehicle, and when the trailer is uniformly loaded not less than 20% of the weight of its load is borne by the drawing vehicle; |
| “automatic transmission system” means a transmission system or device in which changes in its torque ratio are effected automatically; |
| “container” means a container of goods of at least 2.4 metres by 2.4 metres by 6 metres in dimension which, not forming part of a vehicle, is designed and constructed to be carried on a goods vehicle; |
| “conventional vehicle” means a vehicle that is mechanically propelled by means of internal combustion engines; [S 7/2001 wef 03/01/2001] |
| “deck” means a floor or platform upon which seats are provided for the accommodation of passengers; |
| “direction indicator” means a device fitted to a motor vehicle or trailer for the purpose of intimating the intention of the driver to change the direction of movement of the vehicle to the right or to the left; |
| “double-decked vehicle” means a vehicle having 2 decks one of which is wholly or partly above the other and each deck of which is provided with a gangway serving seats on that deck only; |
| “electric vehicle” means a vehicle that is mechanically propelled by means of electric traction motors; [S 7/2001 wef 03/01/2001] |
| “fuel container” means a container fitted to a motor vehicle or trailer and intended for the storage of gaseous fuel for the purpose of the propulsion of the vehicle or the drawing vehicle, as the case may be; |
| “gangway” means the space provided for obtaining access from any entrance to the passengers’ seats or from any such seat to an exit other than an emergency exit but does not include a staircase or any space in front of a seat or a row of seats which is required only for the use of passengers occupying that seat or row of seats; |
| “goods vehicle” means a motor vehicle constructed or adapted for use for the carriage of goods, or a trailer so constructed or adapted; |
| “hazard warning signal device” means a device which is capable of operating simultaneously all the direction indicators with which a vehicle or a combination of vehicles is fitted for the purpose of warning other persons of the presence of a temporary obstruction on the road; |
| “hours of darkness” means the time between sunset and sunrise; |
| “hybrid vehicle” means a vehicle that is mechanically propelled by means of a combination of internal combustion engines and electric traction motors; [S 7/2001 wef 03/01/2001] |
| “illuminated area”, in relation to a direction indicator or a stop light, means the area of the orthogonal projection on a vertical plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle of that part of the direction indicator or stop light, as the case may be, through which light is emitted; |
| “indivisible load” means a load which cannot without undue expense or risk of damage be divided into 2 or more loads for the purpose of conveyance on a road; |
| “land implement” means any implement or machinery used with a land tractor in connection with agriculture, grass cutting, forestry, land levelling, dredging or similar operations and includes a living van and any trailer which for the time being carries only the necessary gear or equipment of the land tractor which draws it; |
| “land tractor” means a motor tractor designed and used primarily for work on land in connection with agriculture, grass cutting, forestry, land levelling, dredging or similar operations which is driven on a road only when proceeding to and from the site of such work and which when so driven hauls nothing other than land implements; |
| “multi-tone horn” means an instrument or apparatus which, when operated automatically produces a sound which alternates at regular intervals between 2 or more fixed notes; |
| “omnibus” means a public service vehicle which is used on a scheduled service and in which passengers are charged separate and distinct fares; |
“overall length” means the length of a vehicle measured between vertical planes at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and passing through the extreme projecting points thereof excluding any —| (a) | driving mirror; | | (b) | starting handle; | | (c) | hood when down; | | (d) | expanding or extensible contrivance forming part of a turntable fire-escape fixed to a vehicle; | | (e) | telescopic fog lamp when extended; | | (f) | post office letter box the length of which measured parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle does not exceed 300 millimetres; and | | (g) | ladder which does not project more than 150 millimetres beyond the body of the vehicle; |
| In ascertaining the extreme projecting points of a vehicle account shall be taken of any device or any receptacle on or attached to the vehicle which increases the carrying capacity of the vehicle unless — |
| (i) | it is a tailboard which is let down while the vehicle is stationary in order to facilitate its loading or unloading; | | (ii) | it is a tailboard which is let down in order to facilitate the carriage of, but which is not essential for the support of, loads which are in themselves so long as to extend at least as far as the tailboard when in the upright position; or | | (iii) | it is a receptacle which is constructed or adapted for the purpose of being lifted on or off vehicles with goods or burden contained therein and is from time to time used for that purpose in the ordinary course of business; |
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“overall width” means the width of a vehicle measured between vertical planes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and passing through the extreme projecting points thereof excluding —| (a) | any driving mirror; | | (b) | any pass lights which do not increase the overall width by more than 150 millimetres; | | (c) | any direction indicator; and | | (d) | so much of the distortion of any tyre as is caused by the weight of the vehicle; |
| In ascertaining the extreme projecting points of a vehicle account shall be taken of any device or any receptacle on or attached to the vehicle which increases the carrying capacity of the vehicle unless — |
| (i) | it is a sideboard which is let down while the vehicle is stationary in order to facilitate its loading or unloading; or | | (ii) | it is a receptacle which is constructed or adapted for the purpose of being lifted on or off vehicles with goods or burden contained therein and is from time to time used for that purpose in the ordinary course of business; |
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“overhang” means the distance measured horizontally and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle between 2 vertical planes at right angles to that axis passing through the 2 points specified respectively in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this definition, namely —| (a) | the rearmost point of the vehicle exclusive of —| (i) | any hood when down; | | (ii) | any post office letter box, the length of which measured parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle does not exceed 300 millimetres; | | (iii) | any expanding or extensible contrivance forming part of turntable fire-escape fixed to a vehicle; | | (iv) | any in the case of a motor car constructed solely for the carriage of passengers and their effects and adapted to carry not more than 6 passengers, exclusive of the driver, any luggage carrier fitted to the vehicle; and | | (v) | any ladder which does not project more than 150 millimetres beyond the body of the vehicle; and |
| | (b) | in the case of a motor vehicle having only 2 axles one of which is not a steering axle, the centre point of that axle; | (ii) | in the case of a motor vehicle having 3 axles of which the front axle is the only steering axle, a point 100 millimetres to the rear of the centre of a straight line joining the centre points of the middle and rear axles; and | | (iii) | in any other case, a point so situated on the longitudinal axis of the vehicle that a line drawn from the point at right angles to that axis will pass through the centre of the minimum turning circle of the vehicle; |
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| “passenger vehicle” means a vehicle constructed solely for carriage of passengers and their effects; |
“pneumatic tyre” means a tyre which is —| (a) | provided with, or together with the wheel upon which it is mounted forms, a continuous closed chamber inflated to a pressure substantially exceeding atmospheric pressure when the tyre is in the condition in which it is normally used, but is not subjected to any load; | | (b) | capable of being inflated and deflated without removal from a vehicle or a wheel thereof; and | | (c) | such that, when it is deflated and is subjected to a normal load, the sides of the tyre collapse; |
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| “power operated steering mechanism” of a vehicle means a steering mechanism provided with hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical power and which may be operated to steer the vehicle even when the power is cut off; |
| “prime mover” means the drawing vehicle of a trailer; |
| “rear underrun protective device” means a device for the protection against underrunning from the rear, generally consisting of a cross-member and linking components connected to the chassis side-members or to such components which replace them; |
| “recut pneumatic tyre” means any pneumatic tyre in which an existing tread pattern has been cut or burnt deeper or a new tread pattern has been cut or burnt except where the pattern is cut entirely in additional material added to the tyre for the purpose; |
| “registered”, in relation to a vehicle, means registered for the first time under section 26 of the Act; |
| “safety glass” means glass so constructed or treated that if fractured it does not fly into fragments likely to cause severe cuts; |
| “semi-automatic transmission system” of a vehicle means a transmission system or device in which such changes in its torque ratio as may be selected by the driver of the vehicle are effected automatically; |
| “semi-trailer” means a trailer which is constructed or adapted to form part of an articulated vehicle; |
| “sideguard” means a device generally consisting of a continuous flat surface or a combination of surface and rails meant for the protection of unprotected road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, against the risk of falling under the sides of the vehicle with which the device is fitted; |
| “single-decked vehicle” means a vehicle on which no part of a deck or gangway is placed vertically above another deck or gangway; |
“split braking system”, in relation to a motor vehicle, means a braking system so designed and constructed that —| (a) | it comprises 2 independent sections of mechanism capable of developing braking force such that, excluding the means of operation, a failure of any part (other than a fixed member or a brake shoe anchor pin) of one of those sections shall not cause a decrease in the braking force capable of being developed by the other section; | | (b) | the 2 sections are operated by a means of operation which is common to both sections; and | | (c) | the braking efficiency of either of the 2 sections can be readily checked; |
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| “stop light” means a device fitted to a motor vehicle or to a trailer drawn by a motor vehicle for the purpose of intimating the intention of the driver of the motor vehicle to stop or slow down; |
| “torque ratio” means the ratio between the torque developed at the power axle of a vehicle and the torque developed at the crank shaft of its engine when both torques are in consistent units; |
| “track laying”, in relation to a vehicle, means that the vehicle is so designed and constructed that the weight thereof is transmitted to the road surface either by means of continuous tracks or by a combination of wheels and continuous tracks in such circumstances that the weight transmitted to the road surface by the tracks is not less than half the weight of the vehicle; |
| “transmission system” means a system or device which transmits power from the engine of a vehicle to its powered axle at a multiplicity of speeds and torque ratios; |
| “wheel”, in the case of a motor vehicle or trailer, means a wheel the tyre or rim of which when the vehicle is in motion on a road is in contact with the ground; |
| “wheeled”, in relation to a vehicle, means that the whole weight of the vehicle is transmitted to the road surface by means of wheels; |
| “works vehicle” means a vehicle designed for use in private premises and used on a road only in delivering goods from or to such premises to or from a vehicle on a road in the immediate neighbourhood, or in passing from one part of any such premises to another or to other private premises in the immediate neighbourhood or in connection with road works while at or in the immediate neighbourhood of the site of such works. |
(2) Except where otherwise provided in these Rules, a tyre shall be deemed to be of soft or elastic material only if the material —| (a) | extends continuously round the circumference of the wheel; or | | (b) | is fitted in sections so that as far as reasonably practicable no space is left between the ends thereof, |
| and is of such thickness and design as to minimise, so far as reasonably possible, any vibration when the vehicle is in motion, and is so constructed as to be free from any defect which might in any way cause damage to the surface of a road. |
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(3) For the purposes of these Rules —| (a) | a brake drum shall be deemed to form part of the wheel and not of the braking system; and | | (b) | any 2 wheels of a motor vehicle or trailer shall be regarded as one wheel if the distance between the centres of the areas of contact between such wheels and the road surface is less than 460 millimetres. |
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3.—(1) Except where the context otherwise requires, these Rules shall apply to wheeled vehicles only.| (2) Nothing in rules 10, 11, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 34 and 100 shall apply to a road roller. |
| (3) Nothing in rules 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15(2), 16, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 43 to 98 shall apply to a vehicle proceeding to a port for export. |
| (4) Rules 10, 11, 15(2), 20, 21, 22, 23 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 52, 53, 99, 100, 103 and 120 shall apply only to a motor vehicle or trailer used on a road. |
| (5) Nothing in rules 90(3), 96 and 97 shall apply to a public service vehicle having a seating capacity for not more than 7 persons, excluding the driver. |
| (6) Nothing in Part II (except rules 6, 7 and 45) shall apply to a motor vehicle or trailer brought temporarily into Singapore by a person resident abroad if such motor vehicle or trailer respectively complies in every respect with the requirements relating to motor vehicles or trailers contained in paragraphs I, III and VIII of Article 3 of the International Convention relative to Motor Traffic concluded at Paris on 24th April 1926. |
| (7) Any reference in these Rules to a broken-down vehicle shall include a reference to any towing implement which is being used for the drawing of any such vehicle. |
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