SINGAPORE - A total of 81 errant drivers of heavy vehicles were issued summons following a three-day islandwide enforcement blitz in May.

On May 9, the police said that a total of 87 offences had been committed, with some drivers found to have committed more than one offence.

The authorities stopped a total of 192 heavy vehicles for checks during the operation conducted by the police and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) from May 5 to 7.

Summons issued comprised a wide range of traffic offences. These included speeding, using a mobile communication device while driving, failing to keep left, failing to secure load on vehicle using ropes or other proper materials, and failing to visibly display a speed limiter label.

Some 94 LTA-related offences were also found, comprising excluded vehicles travelling on expressways without a permit, as well as overloaded vehicles. Drivers of such vehicles who are found guilty of either offence can be fined up to $1,000, jailed for three months, or both. Repeat offenders can be fined up to $2,000 and jailed for up to six months, or both.

According to the Road Traffic Act, excluded vehicles are not allowed to be driven on expressways without a permit. Heavy vehicles in the list of exclusions include low trailers, road rollers, concrete trucks, mobile cranes, forklifts and excavators.

According to Legal Advice Singapore, a website under law firm JCP Law, road traffic offences, which relate to the behaviour and actions of a driver in a vehicle, are distinct from offences relating to a vehicle, which come under the jurisdiction of the LTA.

“The number of heavy vehicles found operating without speed limiter labels was of particular concern,” said the police in its May 9 statement, noting that a total of 24 heavy vehicles were found to have done so during the operation.

The police explained that speed limiters are crucial safety devices installed within the vehicle, typically connected to the vehicle’s accelerator system, which effectively restrict the vehicle’s maximum speed.

This significantly reduces the risk of speed-related accidents and lessens their consequences, said police, adding that these devices also work in conj...