Suspensions more ‘painful’ than fines: Drivers, experts on stricter demerit rules

“The suspension actually worked and I stopped getting demerit points,” he said. “My old philosophy was that 24 points was a lot, but turns out it was easier to go over the limit than I thought.”  

Another driver, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said a suspension is more “painful”. The man in his thirties had served a five-year driving suspension and a three-week jail sentence for causing a serious accident in 2020.

He said fines do not deter unsafe driving, but a longer suspension might. 

“As long as a person is working and owning a car, a fine is not that big an amount to affect their behaviour. But demerit points will threaten their entitlement to drive, and that’s something money can’t buy,” he said.

The bigger financial hit, he added, comes from a car’s depreciation. He estimated that a year off the road could cost a driver between S$10,000 and S$13,000 (US$7,800 to US$10,100) in Certificate of Entitlement value alone.

“The thing is, a lot of people don’t realise this until it happens to them. They need to commit an error once first,” he said.

Suspensions like these could become more common under changes to the Driver Improvement Points System, better known as the demerit points system. From Jan 1, 2027, the threshold for a first suspension will drop from 24 points in two years to 18, and suspension periods will lengthen.

The changes are meant to deter traffic violations and keep errant motorists off the roads for longer periods, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said.