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In one grisly accident on Apr 23, 2023, a drunk driver hit a 64-year-old pedestrian with such force that the victim’s body was\u00a0<\/span>severed into three parts<\/span><\/a>. The man had been driving at a speed of between 111kmh and 122kmh along a road with a speed limit of 70kmh.<\/span><\/p>\n Deadly accidents can also occur at lower speeds. In one such case, a young boy who had been jaywalking was killed by a speeding driver.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ms Lu, who is currently representing the boy’s family in a compensation lawsuit against the driver, <\/strong>said the car was estimated to be driving well above the 50kmh speed limit, but below 100kmh.<\/span><\/p>\n The driver did not even realise that he had hit a pedestrian, Ms Lu said.<\/span><\/p>\n “Had it not been that fast, I think the boy would not have lost his life. It might have been severe injuries or fractures. I think people forget that the car is like a machine.”<\/span><\/p>\n She added: “We’ve seen police reports that say that the driver didn’t know what they hit. Sometimes, they think they hit an animal and it was a human. Your cognition is not catching up to your speed.”<\/span><\/p>\n Ms Lu has also seen cases where pedestrians lose a limb or two, or their mental capacity.<\/span><\/p>\n These cases can upend the lives of victims and their families. Not only does it foist unexpected caregiving duties and costs on them, it can sometimes take years for the victims’ compensation claims to be resolved<\/span>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n “I think the hardest ones are really the young folks who are bedridden for the rest of their lives, and their parents who have to take care of them. These are the cases where even receiving monetary compensation cannot make up for the loss incurred,” said Ms Lu.<\/span><\/p>\n Taking into account income levels in Singapore, demerit points are\u00a0<\/span>generally a stronger deterrent<\/span><\/a> than fines, experts such as Associate Professor Walter Theseira from the Singapore University of Social Sciences’ School of Business and Mr Bernard Tay, chairman of the Singapore Road Safety Council, told CNA in an earlier report.<\/span><\/p>\n Still, increasing demerit points, as the authorities are doing, is no silver bullet. Demerit points are typically more of a deterrent for those who drive for a living, compared to those who drive for convenience, said Ms Lu.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nTHE THORNY ISSUE OF TACKLING SPEEDING<\/span><\/h2>\n