Report of New Traffic Rules from 1 Feb is Real, But Please Look at The Year

Recently, a Straits Times article was being shared quite frequently on social media, about a ‘new’ traffic rule starting on the 1st of February. You know what this reminds us of? The year 2016. Which happens to be the year this piece of news was being shared. Guess what? This piece of news is dated 2015.

Just look at this screenshot from one of my colleagues’ Facebook newsfeed. Seven people shared this article recently.

Image: facebook.com

But guys, we’re in 2017 now.

Although it’s from good intentions that we have netizens sharing this on the Internet, but seriously, it’s been two years. That’s hardly ‘new’ anymore, is it?

You see, this comes to our attention because someone in the office spoke about this ‘new’ law this morning. And the best part of it is that last year (2016) February, he spoke about this ‘new’ law as well.

For anyone living under a rock for the past two years, here are the details of this traffic rule.

As of 1 Feb 2015, mobile devices are not allowed to be held while driving a moving vehicle. This refers to both mobile phones and tablets.

Usage includes activities such as calling, messaging, surfing the internet, visiting social media platforms, and downloading material. Which, unfortunately, means that although we want you to visit our site, please don’t do that while driving a moving vehicle

If the device is mounted on the dashboard or on a holder, it is legal to use. Devices are also allowed to be used when the vehicle is stationary, including when the vehicle is stopped at a red light. However, drivers are strongly advised NOT to do this.

Wearables are not specifically mentioned, but the usage of such devices could be classified as inconsiderate driving, which is an offence that carries up to a S$1,000 fine and a six-month jail term.

Right then, now that we have cleared this confusion up, we hope we don’t have to write this exact same article next year again. So, before you share an article like that, please be careful to date the source, in case you end up sharing misinformation!

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