SINGAPORE – Just minutes into an anti-drink driving operation on Nov 15 in Potong Pasir, a man was spotted driving dangerously against traffic to evade the police roadblock.
Traffic Police (TP) officers on motorcycles chased him, with sirens blaring and lights flashing. They caught up with the car in Upper Serangoon Road, a short distance away from the roadblock next to the bus stop opposite St Andrew’s Village.
The 35-year-old driver was arrested for dangerous driving and evasion of a roadblock.
The operation had begun at about 12.30am, with officers setting up at the slip road from Serangoon Road to the CTE.
The media was invited to observe the operation in the lead-up to this year’s Anti-Drink Drive Campaign launched at Clarke Quay on Nov 21. Checks by The Straits Times found that the roadblock was flagged in the Waze traffic app even as the officers were setting it up.
The operation also led to the arrest of a lorry driver after his vehicle was stopped at the roadblock at about 1.45am. The driver, another 35-year-old man, was arrested for drink driving when he failed a breathalyser test.
Separately, officers caught a wanted man during checks on a GetGo car. The man, 35, was driving the rented vehicle with four passengers, including a man believed to be his brother. Officers arrested the driver as he was wanted for a police-related offence, but let the other four go.
Inspector Saleha Mohd Sani, the team leader of the TP patrol unit handling the operation that day, urged drivers to be responsible.
“Drivers who drink drive endanger the safety of all road users,” she said. “The Traffic Police conducts regular enforcement operations to crack down on drink driving and take irresponsible drivers to task for putting lives at risk.”
The annual anti-drink driving campaign is organised by TP and is usually held during the year-end festive season.
This year’s campaign sees TP collaborating with valet service providers for the first time to remind motorists that they should not drive if they intend to consume alcohol.
In her opening address at the campaign launch event on Nov 21, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Sim Ann said there are still motorists who continue to take reckless risks with their own lives and those of other road users.
Fatal drink-driving accidents have halved, from 10 between January and August 2024 to five for the same period in 2025.
