13 motorists caught for traffic offences at Woodlands Checkpoint during National Day period

SINGAPORE – The recent National Day long weekend turned out to be less than festive for 13 motorists who were caught at the Woodlands Checkpoint for traffic offences including queue-cutting and other dangerous road behaviour.

Of the 13 cases caught between Aug 6 and Aug 10, 11 vehicles were told to make U-turns to rejoin queues, and two drivers of foreign-registered vehicles were banned from entering Singapore after crossing double white lines and cutting queues, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Aug 15.

Other dangerous road behaviours exhibited by the motorists included making illegal rights turns and stopping in positions likely to cause danger, obstruction or undue inconvenience.

Ten motorists were referred to the Traffic Police for further action, ICA said.

The 13 motorists were caught amid the ICA’s stepped-up enforcement operations at the checkpoint, which aims to detect motorists who had committed traffic offences and deter others from doing so.

“ICA takes a very serious stance against motorists who violate traffic laws or do not comply with our officers’ instructions at the checkpoints, and thus compromise the safety of other motorists,” said ICA.

“We will not hesitate to take firm action against them.”

Travellers are advised to cooperate with ICA officers, comply with traffic laws and maintain lane discipline when using the land checkpoints, the authority added.

Earlier on Aug 3, ICA had issued a statement warning travellers to expect “very heavy traffic” at land checkpoints from Aug 7 to 10.

In the statement, the immigration authority said it has stepped up security checks at all checkpoints since Feb 28 amid a heightened global security environment following the outbreak of the Iran war in the Middle East.

It added that during the recent Hari Raya Haji, Vesak Day weekend and June school holidays, when more than 18 million travellers crossed the land checkpoints, 52 motorists were caught for traffic-related offences and dangerous road behaviour.