As part of an inter-agency review to improve the safety of transporting workers, the Government has engaged various stakeholders on implementation of measures to further improve the safety of workers on lorry, as announced in March this year. The stakeholders include industry groups, safety experts, transport operators, private companies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and academic institutions.
2. Taking into consideration the feedback from the various stakeholders, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Ministry of Manpower (MOM), and the Traffic Police (TP), will be implementing the following measures:
New Measures to Ensure Driver Alertness and Well-being
3. MOM will enhance its regulations to ensure driver alertness and well-being. MOM will require employers to provide a rest period of at least 30 minutes for dual-role drivers prior to driving, if the drivers have worked for at least six hours onsite and would be ferrying workers in lorry rear decks thereafter.
4. MOM will also require employers to designate a vehicle buddy for all lorries with workers in the rear decks, and ensure that the vehicle buddy has been adequately briefed on his/her role. The vehicle buddy should check that the lorry driver is fit to drive and remains alert while driving.
5. MOM will also be releasing an advisory on the Safe Transport of Workers. The advisory will include recommendations on how employers, drivers, vehicle buddies and lorry passengers can fulfil their roles. These measures and advisory will be rolled out by 1 Jan 2023.
Rain Covers for All Lorries Ferrying Workers
6. To improve worker welfare, LTA, with support from MOM, will require all lorries which are used to ferry workers to be fitted with rain covers. These rain covers, which are typically canvas tarps, must be installed on the canopy for all non-enclosed sections of the lorry deck, including partially opened gaps, to better shield workers from inclement weather. In addition, at least one side of the canopy must be fitted with a transparent rain cover to provide a sufficiently lit environment for workers onboard.
7. In consultation with the industry, LTA recognises that lead time is required to supply and install rain covers for all passenger-ferrying lorries. To allow companies time to make the adjustment, the rain cover requirements will be implemented in three phases:
i. Newly registered lorries from 1 Jan 2023
ii. In-use light lorries[1] from 1 Jul 2023
iii. In-use heavy lorries[2] from 1 Jan 2024
Speed Limiters for Lorries
8. To improve road safety and driving behaviour, TP will require all lorries with a Maximum Laden Weight (MLW) exceeding 3,500 kg to be equipped with speed limiters. Today, speed limiters are already mandated for all goods vehicles with an MLW exceeding 12,000 kg, while speed warning devices are required for all goods vehicles with an MLW not exceeding 3,500kg. TP will be engaging the industry on the new requirement and more details will be released when ready.
