Image via Flickr user Patrick Strang
Illegal Parking
Parking Rules & Regulations
Under the Road Traffic Act, “Park” means to bring a motor vehicle or a trailer to a stationary position and cause it to wait for any purpose other than that of immediately taking up or setting down persons, goods or luggage. Some of the common parking restrictions are:
1. Unbroken double yellow lines are laid down on the road – No parking at all times
2. Unbroken single yellow line is laid down on the side of the road – No parking between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on this side of the road, except on Sundays and Public Holidays.
3. Unbroken single white line is laid down on the road – No parking at all times on either side of the line
4. Unbroken double white lines is laid down on the road – No parking at all times on either side of the line
5. Within 3 metres of a fire hydrant – No parking at all times within 3 metres on either side of a fire hydrant.
6. within 6 metres of an intersection or junction – No parking at all times within 6 metres of an intersection or junction of any road or street.
7. Within 9 metres of a bus stop – No parking at all times within 9 metres of a bus stop (From the tip of the bus bay (back and front) and this includes the bus bay itself).
8. No waiting sign – No waiting at all times on the side of the road
9. No stopping sign – No stopping at all times on the side of the road
10. Pick-up/Drop-off bay:
Pick-up and drop-off points provided near public transport nodes are meant to facilitate immediate pick up and drop off. Hence, motorists should not wait at these bays, as this will cause unnecessary obstruction to other motorists picking up or alighting their passengers.
11. Single yellow zig-zag line along the side of the road (offence attracts demerit points) – No parking at all times on this side of the road and on the public footpath adjacent to the road.
12. Double yellow zig-zag lines along the side of the road (offence attracts demerit points) – No stopping at all times on this side of the road and on the public footpath adjacent to the road.
13. Single white zig-zag line (offence attracts demerit points) – No stopping at all times on this road
14. Abreast of another vehicle (offence attracts demerit points) – No stopping or parking abreast to another vehicle at all times.
15. Within a pedestrian crossing (offence attracts demerit points) – No parking at all times within a pedestrian crossing.
Composition Amount for Illegal Parking Offences
With effect from 1 January 2015, under the tiered fines for illegal parking regime, an individual who receives a Notice of Traffic Offence (“NTO”) for an illegal parking offence will be considered a repeat offender if he had received an NTO within the last 12 months from the date of his latest offence. The dates of the offence stated in the NTOs will be used to calculate the 12-month period to determine if an individual is a repeat offender.
A repeat offender may be offered composition at a higher amount as compared to another offender in similar circumstances but who is not a repeat offender. The composition amount offered may be more than 50% higher.
Apart from the composition amount, demerit points are awarded for certain offences. For offences that carry demerit points, it is mandatory for the vehicle owner to furnish the particulars of the driver.
See Full Story at LTA
It is better to be safe than to be sorry. Prevent accidents by taking all the precautions you can.
Image via Flickr user Bill Dickinson
1. As they say speed thrills and also kills. It is important to keep track on your speed while driving, so that one is in better control of the vehicle. Find out what are the causes that you will speed up? Is there an urge to speed when you have a driver close behind? Or, is it an effort to keep up with the traffic flow. Or, do you just simply enjoy over-taking when you are feeling upset or other emotions? It is especially important to lower speed while nearing schools, on narrow roads, hilly areas, rural areas and when visibility is poor. Wet roads and speed will led to higher chances of getting into an accident.
2. Obey traffic rules. Traffic rules have been designed with safety precaution comes first. It takes into account safety for all, including pedestrians. Follow the lane, and keep the required distance between vehicles. It is important to display appropriate indications/signals especially while changing lanes or before a turn. Follow the traffic rules to lower the risk of getting into accident.
3. Wear seat belts. Seat belts are lifesaving. A statistic has revealed that 63% of those who died in accidents had not strapped on their seat belts. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), lap-shoulder belt systems cut the risk of serious injury and fatality by 50 percent. Seat belts help in protecting the internal organs in a crash as it restrains the forward movement of the body to a great extent. It protects against head and neck injuries by minimizing head contacts and keeps the passenger in place.
4. Pedestrians and children come first. Preference is be given to pedestrians and children crossing the road. Besides that, it is also important to keep a look out for elderly when they cross the road as they tend to walk slower.
5. Read caution signs: Caution signs are very important as they warn about accident prone spots that is ahead so that the driver can reduce the speed of the vehicle. Signboards on the road are vital clues about road design so that the person behind the wheel can exercise caution.
6. Adopt antiskid break systems in the cars. It is to reduce the risk of cars skidding.
7. Air bags in vehicles are a must to cushion the impact in case of accidents.
8. Reflectors to be used on the rear of the vehicle. Ensure all lamps are in working condition. Hazard lamp should be switched on when the vehicle is parked on a highway.
9. Vehicle must be in good working condition. There should be no compromise on the quality of brakes and tyres. Further, it is imperative to inflate tyres with the right air pressure to avoid tyre bursts on road.
10. Roads should be in good condition with proper sign boards. It is vital to install reflectors on roads so that deviations and medians are clearly visible to drivers.
11. Avoid drugs and alcohol while driving. Drugs and alcohol can slow down reflexes, disrupt accurate judgments, and cause mental alertness to dip. They have been the reason behind many fatal road accidents.
12. Falling asleep behind the wheel has led to many grave mishaps on the road. Drivers must rest well as the lack of it can have an adverse effect on mental alertness, slow down reflexes, and even cause momentary sleepiness behind the wheel. What follows is a disaster.
See full story at MEDINDIA
False Injury Claims Drive Insurers to the wall
Image via Flickr user Jane Paulson
The offer of fast cash by a stranger in Changi General Hospital enticed Liyana Mohamed Noor to lie to the police and insurers twice that she had been injured in road accidents. She claimed to be riding pillion on her boyfriend’s motorbike when it collided with a taxi. The accident was bogus. So was the boyfriend, court documents obtained by The Sunday Times shown. Then, she claimed to be a passenger on an SBS Transit bus that had an accident with a motorcycle. She was not on the bus. Liyana, 22, was eventually found out and sentenced to five months’ jail on April 7 this year. While she was caught, insurers are concerned that many others get away with making false or inflated injury claims.
Left unchecked, these could lead to higher costs for insurers and higher insurance premiums for motorists.
Their average annual motor premium has risen 30 per cent since 2004 to more than $1,000.
Cases like Liyana’s are not an exception. A week ago, 16 people were charged with making false injury insurance claims of $4,000 to $10,400 each time.
One woman allegedly had $29,553 in all disbursed to her by her insurer for four accidents – in which she was allegedly not present at the scene and did not suffer the injuries she reported.
If convicted of cheating, they could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
A tip-off from an insurance company last year led to their arrest, the biggest in recent memory. Insurers allegedly deceived include NTUC Income, India International Insurance, American Home Assurance Company and AIG Insurance.
The General Insurance Association told The Sunday Times that the rise in bodily injury claims in recent years is a worrying trend. They increased from 8,704 in 2007 to 16,174 in 2008 and 17,868 last year. It is working with various parties to share information on fraudulent cases and build strong evidence so that fraudsters can be brought to justice.
The parties include the Monetary Authority of Singapore which regulates the insurance industry, Traffic Police, Subordinate Courts and Singapore Medical Association. Doctors write the medical reports necessary for people to make injury claims.
While GIA declined to discuss the modus operandi of claimants, industry players suspect a change in accident reporting procedures in 1999 may have contributed to the problem.
Motorists are no longer required to make a police report if no one is injured or if they received outpatient medical leave of fewer than three days. There are exceptions, such as accidents involving a pedestrian or a cyclist.
The Traffic Police will not investigate these cases, thus speeding up the processing of claims.
But a motor insurance taskforce formed by the Consumers Association of Singapore and Automobile Association of Singapore pointed out in March this year the possibility of people putting up dishonest accident reports to their insurers now that they did not have to lodge a report with the police.
It was also a change for motorists who used to avoid lodging a police report for fear of being fined or earning demerit points on their driving licence. They would settle matters privately without the involvement of lawyers and insurers. Now, they had fewer qualms about making a claim, and possibly inflating them.
See full story at HealthXchange
Be more cautious with discounted offers on car insurance
Image via Flickr user Bob Barely Time
Our instinct to get the maximum bang from the buck is particularly visible when it comes to buying car insurance, because if one does not make a claim, one does not get any value for the premium paid.
Naturally, we negotiate hard. However, motor insurance buyers need to be cautious, particularly when the insurer agrees to the discount you are seeking.
Has your car’s value been lowered?Misselling happens when you buy a policy via an insurance agent. “If you negotiate hard with an agent, he may lower the value of your car, hence lower your insured declared value (IDV),” says Deepak Yohannan of MyInsuranceclub.com. Say your car is valued at Rs 7 lakh and you are asked to pay a premium of Rs 22,000.
Has voluntary deductible been increased?
When monetary loss is borne by the insured, it is called deductible. It can be compulsory or voluntary. For a policy where a car’s IDV is around Rs 6.50 lakh and an insurer offers a lower premium of Rs 18,930, you are also offered a voluntary deductible component of around Rs 5,000.
Incorrect claim history?
If you want to shift to another insurer, and you do not disclose that you had made a claim with your previous insurer, you may get a discounted premium from your new insurer. The problem arises when you make a claim with your new insurer.
Have add-on covers been removed?
“At times, premiums are lowered after removing add-on covers from the base policy,” says Divya Gandhi, Head, General Insurance and Principal Officer, Emkay Insurance Brokers. So, first the agent will show a quote with the cost of add-on covers factored in.
Standard cover pitched as special offer?
Often agents sell a policy by bloating its price and then offering you a 20-30% discount on the premium and project it as a special deal for you. Or, they include an add-on cover and say that despite an additional benefit they have been able to keep the premium unchanged.
by Neha Pandey Deoras
See Full Story at economictimes.indiatimes.com
What to do in a car accident (Real life scenario)
There comes a time when we ask ourselves, what should we do in regards to insurance claims when our vehicle is involved in an accident? While we hope we will never have to go through that experience, we are always curious to find out and be prepared for such an incident. And unfortunately, I am involved this time. So let me share my experience with you guys.
On 5th Oct 2015, I visited my client in Tuas and arrive at his premises at around 950am. I park along the side of the road just opposite my client’s factory. I went in to look for my client and upon returning, I was stun (like a vegetable) to see a big dent and damage on the driver side door. The damage was bad enough that I could not open the door from the outside. Here’s how the damaged look like:
So the only action that came to my mind is to use my phone and snap a picture for evidence, and of course not forgetting uploading it to social media to vent my frustration. Then it came to my mind, what’s next? The car who hit mine was not there, and there isn’t anyone that I can talk to. I took out my Certificate of Insurance (yes please put one copy in your car) to see if there are any instructions. However, I only saw a list of authorised workshop and their telephone numbers. So next thing that I know is to search for the insurer’s website (in this case China Taiping Insurance) to look for further advice. Thankfully I saw a set of instructions that I can follow (you can see it here). So as my situation is sort of a ‘Parked and found damage’ or to make it sound more serious ‘Hit and Run’ case, I have to make a police report. And at that point in time, I took out my phone and dial 999.
The TPs (2 of them) came within like 15 mins and they started to assess the situation while I gave them my particulars. I must say they are quite good at what they are doing as one of them managed to investigate around the premises and found one of the company’s cctv in that area that captures the scene of the accident. So it was verified in the cctv video that this particular lorry that allegedly came out from my client’s neighbour unit, hit my car while trying to reverse and drove off subsequently. The TPs then contacted that company’s boss and requested for the driver to come back to assist in investigation. At this point, one of the TPs informed me to head to the nearest police post to lodge a report, unless I choose to negotiate with the alleged culprit for private settlement, which its unlikely that they will admit.
So I left the scene and head over to the nearest NPCC and once done, I check the list of authorised workshops that is near my area and decided to send in my car for repair and to claim insurance (please check if your policy is purchased under authorised workshop scheme or any workshop scheme, if its the latter you can go to any workshop you prefer. For mine it will be under authorised workshop scheme as I am entitled to a discount for my car insurance). While at the workshop, I submited all documents to make a claim and here comes dilemma. I was told that as the other party sort of did not admit to the accident, nor did they make a accident report, I am not allowed to claim under that party’s insurance. So either I wait for the police to finish their investigation to determine the outcome or I can choose to claim under my own insurance first, and should the police find that the other party is at fault then I can ask my insurance to claim all damages from them.
AND ANOTHER DILEMMA, if I choose to proceed o claim under my own insurance first, the excess will kick in, which means I have to pay $500 (excess different from each policy) upon the repair is completed. AND YET ANOTHER DILEMMA, because the ownership of the car that I drove is under my mum’s name, and also because I didn’t add my name as one of the named drivers, I have to pay an additional excess of $500, which adds up t $1070 after GST. So in the worst case scenario, if the police fail to conclude that other party is at fault, I will have to absorb this excess cost. Should the case be favourable to me, then this excess will be refunded back to me by my insurer( since all damages will be claimed from the other party’s insurance).
Well seems I cant really wait that long, I choose to claim my own first so as to start the repairs asap. So if you are reading this post, I hope you have learned something through my bad experience, and please remember to add in your name if you are driving a car that is not under your ownership! ALSO, please INSTALL CAMERAS IN YOUR CAR (sigh)
‘Eye-watering’ administration fees hit by Which? car insurance probe
Image via Flicr user Hamed Saber
The consumer group, which is running a “stop sneaky fees and charges” campaign, found that the admin fees used by car insurance providers can vary widely, with some charging double the average for certain costs.
Of the 44 insurers Which? looked at between May and August, it found that five did not have any adjustment fees for changing details such as a name or address, while others charged up to £35. The average fee for this was £22.79, Which? found.
Previous Which? research found that two-thirds (68%) of consumers thought companies used separate fees to trick people into thinking the product or service was cheaper than it was.
Which? is urging companies to set out all fees and charges clearly so consumers can easily compare between providers.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: “We’ve found some insurers charging customers eye-watering admin fees that can be hard to avoid, and people often don’t know what they are actually paying for. We want companies to ensure their fees reflect actual costs.”
“Customers should always read their policy documents carefully and speak to their insurer or broker if they have any questions about any charges for making changes to a policy or for cancelling it. In accordance with the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority and relevant legislation, the fees insurers charge must be clearly and fully set out and broadly reflect the costs they incur.”
See Full Story at belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Importance of having a Travel Insurance
While travelling in overseas country is an enjoyable experience, many travellers tend to neglect the importance of having a travel insurance especially the younger people, thinking that nothing could go wrong and everything is going to be fine. However, risks are always present and there will be times when these risks are beyond our control.
Below is the list of common risks that might occur to you during our travel experience:
1. Cancellation/Postpone of flight/Travel Misconnection
There may be times, due to unforeseen circumstances, that results to cancelling or postponing our trips. Such example could be a recent death of your family member at home, or cases like the bombing incident in Bangkok, where it might not be a good time to travel. It will be a loss if you are not able to get the refund. However, travel insurance allows for such trip cancellation or postponement Hence, it will not only save your worries but also save your money. Besides that, there is also compensation for travel misconnection, if the flight is delayed exceeding 6 hours.
2. Medical coverage
Despite having different climates in different countries, some people have a hard time of adapting the change of weather and may fall sick when they arrive at their destination. Travel insurance has medical coverage for medical expenses incurred overseas. The recent MERs case in Korea could be an example of an unforeseen risk that if struck upon, may need to seek medical attention immediately and it will definitely be costly.
3. Stolen/damage items/loss of travel documentations
Do you know that there are many professional pickpockets around you, they are fast and could steal your stuffs before you even know it. Imagine your valuables or even worst, passport is being stolen during your holiday trips. It will be difficult to deal these kind of situation. Rather than just enjoying your holiday, you end up spending more money to replace the items you have lost.
4. Baggage loss/Delay
Misplaced or delay of baggage happens all the time with most airlines and it is certainly not a happy situation to be in. In the worst case scenario, some of our baggage may get damaged.
5. Accidental damage/injury
Travelling is fun, however there is a risk that we may tend to get ourselves injured due to incidents like traffic accident. Traffic in overseas countries may not be as friendly as those in our own country and risk of accidents are always there and unavoidable. While trying to be careful is one way of reducing your risk, some accidents may just be unavoidable / unpredictable.
10th Year Anniversary NDP parade 2005
Singapore’s SG50 Jubilee holiday has ended. Singaporeans have just celebrated our 50th birthday and I believe all of us have enjoyed watching the NDP 2015 parade and performances, whether live at the Padang or on TV. As for me, I was away on a holiday in Bintan but still managed to watch the parade on TV.
Seeing the parade square , as well as the set up of stages for Padang, memories of my involvement in NDP came flowing back to me. While reminiscing the times when I was involved, I came to realise it has exactly been 10 years! And it actually felt like it happened not too long ago. As the parade started, I can’t help but kept thinking about the events that happened back then.
So what was it like to be involved in such a prestigious event? well i can’t really describe but I have managed to dig out photos in 2005. So here they are:
The Pipes and drums group that will march in together with the RSM
My bunk mates. Whatever it is, we are definitely not promoting this drink.
Not advertising, just killing time while waiting for my turn to rehearse
The drums that I played while marching in. Can’t remember what its called.
Influenced by our rocker buddy, Joel, everyone became a rocker. oh yes, milo was our favourite drink back then.
We simply just like to take photos every now and then.
So some of you must be wondering which part of the parade did we appear? Thanks to technology, I managed to find a YouTube video and thus able share with you our march in with the RSM (see 43:38 of the video):
Yes. That is me, the last guy, on TV. Famous for 5 seconds.
Higher Compensation for Workplace Injuries
Recently, the government has announced some changes to the Work Injury Compensation Act, or known as WICA. According to a Straits Times article dated 30 July 2015, there will be changes to the compensation limits The existing limits were set in 2012 based on the 2010 median wage of resident employees. From 1 January 2016, the increase in limits, estimated to be about 20%, can be seen as followed:
Changes are made to adjust to inflation, as well as the increase in median nominal wages of employees. Furthermore, medical treatment that helps the injured workers return to work earlier such as physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy, and worksite assessment expenses etc will also be claimable starting from next year.
For clients seeking to insured their employees on WICA, please do not hesitate to contact me or drop me an email.
See more information on stratimes.com and mom.gov.sg
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