Knowledge base Road rules Updated 21 Oct 2026 8 min read

Signals given by a police officer

Current legal duties when uniformed traffic controllers direct vehicles, the SPF handbook's six police-officer signal patterns, and SPF guidance for drivers at police roadblocks.

police hand-signals traffic-control

Primary source: https://www.police.gov.sg/-/media/SPF/Advisories/TP/BT-ENG-2126.pdf

Legal duty to follow a traffic direction

On a road, a driver or person propelling a vehicle must stop or make the vehicle proceed in or keep to a particular line of traffic when directed by a uniformed police officer, Land Transport Authority employee, or security officer engaged in regulating traffic. Failing to comply is an offence. The Deputy Commissioner of Police or the Authority may authorise security officers to regulate traffic under the Act (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, sections 120(1) and 120(4); Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, section 142B).

At a place where traffic lights regulate traffic, a driver must follow directions from a uniformed police officer or security officer engaged in regulating traffic even if the lights indicate otherwise. Section 120(2) names those two roles for this express signal-conflict rule; section 120(1) separately includes an Authority employee among the people whose traffic directions drivers must follow (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, section 120).

The SPF Basic Theory of Driving handbook says police officers' traffic signals take precedence over road signs, traffic-light signals, road markings, and traffic regulations. Its six diagrams show how drivers approaching from each direction should respond to the officer's signals (SPF, Basic Theory of Driving handbook, “Signals Given by a Police Officer,” pp. 47–48).

Six signal patterns in the handbook

The current handbook's six signal diagrams show these traffic-direction patterns:

One diagram directs traffic approaching the officer from all directions to stop.
In another pattern, traffic approaching from the officer's front and behind must stop; traffic from the left and right may proceed.
In one pattern, traffic approaching from the officer's right, front, and behind must stop; traffic from the officer's left may proceed.
In another pattern, traffic approaching from the front and behind must stop; traffic from the officer's right may proceed and traffic from the left should be ready to stop because the signal is about to change.
One diagram directs traffic approaching from the officer's left, front, and behind to stop; traffic from the right must be ready to stop because the signal is about to change.
A signal may direct right-turning traffic in front of the officer to proceed while traffic from all other directions stops (SPF, Basic Theory of Driving handbook, “Signals Given by a Police Officer,” pp. 47–48).

The diagrams are directional: identify the officer's front, rear, left, and right from the officer's position, then follow the movement permitted for the vehicle's approach. SPF's current penalty table lists disobeying a traffic direction of a police officer, Authority employee, or security officer engaged in regulating traffic as an offence carrying 3 demerit points and composition amounts of $150 for a light vehicle or $200 for a heavy vehicle (SPF, Penalties for Traffic Offences).

At a police roadblock

SPF advises drivers to slow down when they see a police roadblock, follow officers' hand signals and instructions, and switch off the engine at the stopping point when asked. Officers will ask for an identification document. If waved on, a driver may proceed through. If directed to pull over, drivers should park on the left, switch off the engine, and alight safely. Motorcyclists should switch off the engine, dismount, and push the motorcycle to the left shoulder for further checks. Further checks may include questions, a breath analyser test, and a vehicle search conducted in the driver's presence; drivers may continue once officers determine everything is in order (SPF, Police Procedures, “Roadblocks,” p. 7).

Separately, the Road Traffic Act says a uniformed police officer may stop a motor vehicle whose driver has committed or is suspected of having committed an offence under the Act or its rules, and a driver must stop when so required. Evading a police roadblock is also an offence under section 26(5) of the Police Force Act (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, section 127(4)–(5); SPF, Police Procedures, “Roadblocks,” p. 7).

Identity checks by LTA enforcement officers

For a prescribed offence committed in the view of the Registrar or an authorised officer, Road Traffic Act section 127A allows that officer to require evidence of the person's identity; the person must provide the evidence required. An authorised officer is an LTA employee or another person authorised in writing by the Registrar. Refusing the requirement or wilfully giving false information is an offence punishable by a fine of up to $500. If a person refuses or the officer has reason to believe information is false, the Registrar or authorised officer may arrest without warrant; a person arrested under this power may not be detained longer than necessary to bring them before a court unless a court orders detention (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, section 127A).

The Transport Sector (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2025 deleted Road Traffic Act sections 127B and 127C with effect from 23 September 2026. It moved bus and bus-interchange screening provisions into Part 7A of the Bus Services Industry Act 2015: section 42AA(6) makes certain refusals or failures to comply with screening requests or orders an offence, and section 42AG allows an authorised officer to require identity evidence for an offence under Part 7A or its regulations. The Act also continues existing authorisations under former Road Traffic Act section 127B(9) as authorisations under Bus Services Industry Act section 42AA(8) (Singapore Statutes Online, Transport Sector (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2025, sections 2, 5 and 11; Singapore Statutes Online, current Bus Services Industry Act 2015, sections 42AA and 42AG).

The current Road Traffic (Prescribed Offence under section 127A) Rules still identify offences under former Road Traffic Act section 127B(6) and section 131(1)(c) read with Road Traffic Rules rule 26C(1). Road Traffic Act section 127A defines a “prescribed offence” as an offence under that Act or its rules. The official sources do not explain whether the unamended rule's former-section reference has any continuing effect after repeal or applies to the successor offences under the Bus Services Industry Act. The separate identity power in Bus Services Industry Act section 42AG is stated above; this article does not infer that the Road Traffic (Prescribed Offence under section 127A) Rules extend to the new Act (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, section 127A; Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Prescribed Offence under section 127A) Rules, rule 2; Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Rules, rule 26C; Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, section 127B).

Coverage debt

This article explains the handbook diagrams in text; it does not reproduce the handbook's illustrations.
The unamended Road Traffic (Prescribed Offence under section 127A) Rules still refer to former Road Traffic Act section 127B(6), while the successor bus-screening offence and an independent identity power now appear in the Bus Services Industry Act. The official sources do not explain whether the old reference in those prescribed-offence Rules continues to have any effect or extends to the successor offences.