• Motorists said the authorities should study where jaywalking hot spots are and place pedestrian crossings there
• While most road users think that Silver Zones are effective, some drivers still plan to flout the rules at their discretion
• Cameras can also be installed at Silver Zones to detect speeding vehicles or jaywalkers, said an expert

SINGAPORE — While the Government wants to increase fines to punish reckless motorists at Silver Zones, some road users said that it may be more effective to implement proper pedestrian crossings in areas where the elderly frequently jaywalk.

Some welcomed the increase in fines and told TODAY that they look forward to even safer neighbourhoods as a result.

Others, however, do not think that increased fines will help, as they question the effectiveness of Silver Zones in keeping the elderly safe.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan said in Parliament on Monday (March 1) that to better protect elderly pedestrians, the penalties will be raised for motorists who commit offences at pedestrian crossings or endanger pedestrian safety at Silver Zones.

Motorists who commit offences such as speeding or using their phones while driving in a Silver Zone will incur two additional demerit points on top of the usual demerit point for the offence.

They will also be liable for an additional S$100 in composition fines.

In the seven years since Silver Zones were set up, the accident rates within these zones have gone down by as much as 80 per cent, the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

Elderly pedestrian fatalities have also declined from 27 in 2019 to 15 in 2020, but the 15 deaths accounted for 83 per cent of the 18 pedestrian deaths last year, up from 70 per cent in 2019.

AN INCREASE IN TRAFFIC CROSSINGS NEEDED: MOTORISTS, PEDESTRIANS

Mr Alvin Kuo, who occasionally drives by the Silver Zone at Bukit Merah View, said that given the elderly still account for a large proportion of pedestrian deaths, the placement of traffic lights and zebra crossings at some of these zones should be reviewed.

The 46-year-old in the healthcare industry said that the authorities should study where the jaywalking hot spots are and consider measures such as placing traffic crossings there.

But a 76-year-old retiree who lives near the Silver Zone at Hougang Street 21 said that having to walk a fair distance to the traffic crossing is time consuming and cumbersome.

To cross the road at the Silver Zone, she has to walk about 100 metres from her block to a traffic crossing near the Paya Lebar Kovan Community Club as most of the road in the vicinity is fenced up.

Another pedestrian, 58-year-old Florence Lau, who lives near the Silver Zone at Whampoa Drive, wishes that more traffic lights in the area will have the Green Man+ function. This allows the elderly to tap their concession cards on a reader so that they have more time to cross the road.

In response to queries from TODAY, a Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesman said that in the 19 locations where Silver Zones have been implemented, there are 47 pedestrian crossings equipped with the Green Man+.

“There are over 1,000 pedestrian crossings fitted with Green Man+ islandwide, and LTA plans to expand it to another 1,500 pedestrian crossings by 2026,” the spokesman added.

The LTA website also states that the time for the green man signal is extended where feasible at Silver Zones, to give seniors more time to cross the road.

MOST THINK SILVER ZONES HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE, SOME STILL FLOUTING THE RULES

Driver Daniel Tan, who lives near the Silver Zone at Whampoa, said that he supports the increase in fines.

“When I am driving in the area, it is a civic duty as a road user to slow down,” he said. “Everyone has elderly parents or grandparents, we should just be a bit more careful.”

An 83-year-old retiree, who wants to be known only as Mr Foo and lives near the Silver Zone in Hougang Street 21, said that he feels safer with the safety features in place since early last year.

“Cars are slower now; in the past there were a lot of speeding incidents,” he said. “Previously when drivers saw the zebra crossing, they tended to stop too late.”

Mr Foo recalled that there were two accidents in the past few years, but since fences were installed and roads were made narrower, he has not heard of any accidents.

However, some elderly do not trust the new features, and would rather take their own precautions.

Retiree Tan Boon Thong, 80, rides around on a motorised wheelchair at his estate near the Silver Zone at Lorong 8A Toa Payoh. He said that many cars still speed around the turns, although the speed limit is demarcated clearly as 40kmh.

“While it is good that they are raising fines, you still have to take care of yourself when you cross the roads,” he said.

One 44-year-old driver thinks that it is okay to go beyond the speed limit in some circumstances, even at Silver Zones.

“There are certain hours when you have to be slow, regardless of whether it is a Silver Zone or not, and certain hours where it’s more quiet so you can go faster,” he said.

SILVER ZONES MAY CAUSE COMPLACENCY: EXPERTS

Experts whom TODAY reached out to said that while the Silver Zones generally help to slow cars down, complacency from both parties can still cause accidents to occur.

One reason is that the elderly may have a higher perceived level of safety while crossing these zones, said Singapore University of Social Sciences lecturer Cecilia Rojas, who is an expert in active mobility.

“This might lead elders to overestimate their capabilities and sometimes put themselves in dangerous situations,” she said.

Drivers might also perceive speed limits at Silver Zones as “overly-precautious” and feel tempted to flout the rules, she added.

Associate professor Raymond Ong, a transport infrastructure expert from the National University of Singapore, said that he is not surprised at the move to raise penalties at Silver Zones.

“The Silver Zone is an infrastructural or policy solution that attempts to nudge senior and driver behaviour,” he said. “That is to say that if a senior or driver has no intention to change their behaviour despite the infrastructural and policy measures, there is a need to deter such actions.”

Agreeing, transport engineering consultant Gopinath Menon said that infrastructure cannot stop motorists and pedestrians who deliberately want to flout the rules.

“The infrastructure can make it only more difficult to flout the rules,” he said.

Both seniors and drivers should be educated on the importance of pedestrian and driving safety, said Dr Ong.

He added that cameras can also be installed at Silver Zones to detect speeding vehicles or jaywalkers.

“Such cameras may have recognition technologies for enforcement or can be used as advanced warning for cars to slow down,” he said.