New law to clamp and seize deregistered vehicles in Singapore

The scheme is intended to address the risk of rogue exporters failing to properly dispose of or export deregistered vehicles, the authorities said. LTA will give the industry at least one year to transition before the scheme is implemented.

The Bill will also cut the grace period for owners to fulfil disposal requirements from one month to 14 days. The authorities said the shorter period will lower the risk of deregistered vehicles being misused before they are properly disposed of.

Vehicle owners will only need to hand their deregistered vehicles to authorised exporters, authorised scrapyards or authorised export processing zone operators, and will no longer need to submit disposal documents to LTA.

Those convicted of failing to submit proof that their deregistered vehicles have been disposed of will also face a daily fine of up to $500 until proof of disposal is submitted.

The Bill will also empower the Government to prevent new or used vehicles from being registered by or transferred to high-risk individuals who may fail to dispose of them when they are deregistered.

These include people with records of keeping deregistered vehicles, as well as “juveniles under 18 who may be vulnerable to exploitation by criminal syndicates”.

The measures build on higher penalties that took effect in February.

First-time offenders who keep or use unregistered or deregistered vehicles can be fined up to $20,000 and/or jailed for up to two years, with penalties doubled for repeat offenders.

A 22-year-old man was charged in court in July with multiple traffic offences, including driving deregistered vehicles at several locations and driving without a valid licence.

In January, a 17-year-old was arrested following a high-speed car chase in Geylang, during which he was driving a deregistered vehicle, and was under the influence of drugs while behind the wheel.

In 2024, a deregistered car was found abandoned in the middle of the PIE after it collided with four other vehicles.

Online sellers of active mobility devices could face tougher rules

The Bill also proposes several amendments that will expand the scope of existing regulations for electric and autonomous vehicles, as well as active mobility devices, currently covered under different Acts. These include the Active Mobility Act 2017, Electric Vehicles Charging Act 2022, Road Traffic Act 1961, and Small Motorised Vehicles (Safety) Act 2020.

Several changes to govern the sales of active mobility devices are being proposed under the Bill.

For instance, MOT wants the same rules that apply to physical retailers of active mobility devices to apply to online sellers and advertising platforms too.

This would mean that online sellers of active mobility devices will have to display warning notices and usage rules, and cannot advertise or sell non-compliant devices.

The Bill also proposes new rules for batteries, which can pose fire risks.

Sellers of lithium-ion batteries for will have to state details such as which devices the batteries are compatible with, as well as their voltage and capacity. Advertising, selling and using an incompatible battery will be an offence.

Lithium-ion battery fires can burn hotter and spread faster, making active mobility device fires harder to put out.

The Bill also proposes to raise the maximum penalty for illegally importing non-compliant active mobility devices, such as e-bikes and motorised personal mobility devices like e-scooters.

Individuals can be fined up to $10,000, up from $5,000, while the maximum fine for non-individuals will rise from $10,000 to $40,000. Repeat offenders will face double the penalties.

On electric vehicles, the Bill proposes doing away with mandatory two-yearly inspections for EV chargers in landed homes, reducing the compliance burden for owners. LTA can still require inspections if safety concerns arise, MOT said.

The Bill will also introduce a five-year regulatory sandbox, until Sept 30, 2031, for autonomous vehicles on public paths. This will allow controlled trials of solutions such as robosweepers, while giving the Government time to refine rules before wider deployment.

The proposed law will also give the authorities stronger powers to crack down on illegal point-to-point transport services, including unlicensed ride-hailing and taxi services.