ENFORCEMENT AGAINST NON-COMPLIANCE WITH VEHICLE EXHAUST EMISSION STANDARDS

From time to time, we see smoky vehicles on our roads. Such vehicles, which are usually ill-maintained, pose an environmental hazard to all of us. I therefore filed a parliamentary question (“PQ”) asking about the enforcement efforts on this front. In particular, I sought information on a pilot launched by NEA in 2017 during which surveillance cameras were deployed to detect air polluting vehicles. My PQ and Minister Grace Fu’s answer may be accessed below.

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Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) for each of the past three years, how many vehicle owners have NEA taken action against for failing to ensure that their vehicles meet the exhaust emission standards; (b) since 2017, what has been NEA’s experience in deploying surveillance cameras to detect and identify air polluting vehicles; and © whether there are plans to extend the use of these cameras as a deterrence against the use of air polluting vehicles on our roads.

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: The National Environment Agency (NEA) took about 7,400, 4,100 and 4,400 enforcement actions against smoky vehicles in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively. The significant reduction in enforcement actions in 2020 and 2021 was due to reduced road traffic as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enforcement officers are deployed at various locations across Singapore to detect and take video evidence of smoky vehicles on public roads. While NEA had embarked on a small-scale trial of automatic smoke detection cameras in 2017, it was assessed that the technology was unable to detect and pinpoint the smoke emissions from individual vehicles accurately and reliably.

As part of its continuing efforts to reduce air pollution and promote public health, NEA will continue to identify and conduct trials on other potentially suitable and cost-effective technologies to detect smoky vehicles on the road.