Traffic Police officers chatting with a motorist who had been driving unsteadily near Rumbia LRT station in Punggol around 8.30pm on December 20, 2017. The officers tailed the driver briefly, observing him, before pulling him over. The man was cleared after passing the breathalyser test.
Traffic Police stops are relatively uncommon in Singapore – unless you habitually commit traffic offences.
But what if you’re merrily driving along and suddenly see a traffic police officer gesture for you to stop?
1) Don’t panic. There is nothing to be afraid of.
Traffic police stops can happen for a variety of reasons.
But if you’re being pulled over, chances are you may have done something wrong.
Perhaps you were straddling lanes or driving a bit too fast.
2) Find a safe place to stop your car.
If the road shoulder is wide enough, stop there.
Put your vehicle in Park (or in neutral and pull the handbrake if you have a manual gearbox) and set the parking brake.
Wait for the officer to come over.
3) Be polite!
Traffic police officers are usually polite and will tell you right away what he spotted you doing wrong.
If this is the case, apologise after he finishes.
If the offence is relatively minor (maybe you only exceeded the limit by 5-10km/h), the officer may let you off with a warning.
However, he or she can still choose to give you a summons, albeit with reduced penalties.
The officer will also mention that you can choose to appeal the summons.
Try to explain your version of events (politely) and see what happens.
If you have footage from the in-car camera, this may help.
4) Do not use the traffic police stop as a chance to argue.
Arguing loudly or being overly defensive are not going to help your case.
You will only escalate the situation and destroy whatever chance you have of your appeal succeeding.
5) The last thing you should do is run.
Running away from a traffic police stop will only end with more serious consequences.
Many drivers have tried and almost all have failed.
You can only run so far (Singapore is not that big), and trying to leave the country will only make things worse.
If you know/realise you have been drinking, speeding or illegally racing, just stop and cooperate.
