Stricter safety rules for lorries from next month
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 18 Jan 2011. Stricter safety rules for lorries from next month Higher fines, lower maximum passenger capacity among changes By Royston Sim & Melissa Kok Straits Times, Jan 18, 2011 LORRY drivers and company bosses who flout safety rules on transporting workers will face stiffer penalties. From Feb 1, fines will be increased from $200 to $500 for certain offences. They include carrying workers in the back while there are empty seats in the lorry cabin, and allowing workers to sit so that they are higher than 1.1m measured from the floor of the lorry. First-time offenders will get demerit points for most offences. Errant drivers who carry too many passengers or ferry them in a dangerous manner will also get demerit points. In July last year, the Government brought forward the deadline for enhanced safety standards from September next year to next month. The move followed two accidents in June which killed three workers and i