Knowledge base Enforcement Updated 21 Oct 2026 7 min read

Police roadside stops under Singapore’s Road Traffic Act

When police may stop or arrest road users under section 127, when drivers must stop, and what identification duties apply to plainclothes police and LTA officers.

police roadside-stop vehicle-check identity Road Traffic Act

Primary source: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/RTA1961?ProvIds=pr127-%2Cpr127A-%2Cpr128-

When police may stop or arrest

A police officer in uniform may stop a motor vehicle if its driver has committed, or is suspected of having committed, an offence under the Road Traffic Act or its rules. A uniformed officer may also arrest without warrant a person in charge of or driving a motor vehicle who has committed, or is suspected of having committed, such an offence, subject to the limits below (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 127(4), (6)–(8)).

The arrest power in subsection (6) must not be used if the person produces a driving licence on demand so the officer can verify the person’s name and address, the licence’s issue date and issuing authority. Alternatively, a person who is not a paid driver or a driver of a motor vehicle used to carry passengers for hire or reward or to carry goods may avoid arrest under that subsection by giving a name and an address in Singapore. If the officer reasonably suspects that the name or address is false, the officer may still arrest the person (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 127(7)–(8)).

For a person other than a motor-vehicle driver who commits an offence under the Act or rules in a uniformed officer’s view, the officer may stop and arrest that person. The person must not be arrested if they satisfy the officer as to their name and residence in Singapore and that they do not intend to abscond. A police officer may detain a bicycle or tricycle in respect of which an offence was committed in the officer’s view (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 127(1)–(3)).

When drivers must stop

A person driving a motor vehicle must stop when required to do so by a police officer in uniform. For a vehicle-licence check, a police officer in uniform may stop a motor vehicle, while the Registrar or an officer authorised by the Registrar in writing (who must produce that authority) may stop a vehicle other than a motor vehicle. A driver must stop when required by one of those officers for that check (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 127(5), (9)–(10)).

Passenger identity checks

When exercising the specified stop, arrest or vehicle-licence-check powers, a police officer in uniform may require a person who appears to be or to have been a passenger in the vehicle to give their name and address. If the passenger refuses, the officer may arrest them to establish their identity. The passenger must be brought before a Magistrate’s Court within 24 hours unless their identity is established sooner; if it is, the passenger must be released immediately on executing a bond, with or without sureties, to appear before the Court if required (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 127(11)–(13)).

Penalty for failing to stop

Failing to stop when required under section 127(5) or (10) is an offence. Where no special penalty is provided, the Act’s general penalty is a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months for a first offence, and a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months for a second or subsequent offence (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, ss. 127(5), (10) and 131(1)–(2)).

Identification by a police officer not in uniform

A police officer acting against a person under the Road Traffic Act must, if not in uniform, declare their office and produce the police identification card on the person’s demand. If the officer fails to do both after the person makes that demand, the person commits no offence by refusing to comply with a request, demand or order made by that officer (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 128).

Identity evidence for prescribed offences

Section 127A separately allows the Registrar or an authorised officer to require a person to provide evidence of identity when that person commits a prescribed offence in the officer’s view. Refusing to provide required evidence, or wilfully providing false information, is an offence punishable by a fine of up to $500. The Registrar or authorised officer may arrest without warrant if the person refuses or the officer believes the information is false. The person must not be detained longer than necessary to bring them before a court unless a court orders otherwise (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 127A).

An authorised officer is an LTA employee or a person authorised in writing by the Registrar. With the Minister’s written approval, the Registrar may authorise an omnibus operator’s employee to exercise these powers for a prescribed offence committed within a bus interchange or on an omnibus (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 127A(5)–(6)).

The Road Traffic (Prescribed Offence under section 127A) Rules list offences under section 127B(6), and an offence under section 131(1)(c) read with rule 26C(1) of the Road Traffic Rules, as prescribed offences (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Prescribed Offence under section 127A) Rules, r. 2; Singapore Statutes Online, current Road Traffic Rules, r. 26C(1)). Rule 26C(1) concerns unauthorised presence in specified parts of a bus terminus or bus interchange intended for buses and not demarcated for pedestrians.

Coverage debt: section 127B was deleted with effect from 23 September 2026, but the current prescribed-offence Rules still refer to section 127B(6). The sources cited here do not explain the effect of that repeal on the reference, so this guide does not infer that a deleted section 127B offence remains prescribed. Rule 26C(1) is separately listed in the Rules (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 127B; Singapore Statutes Online, Transport Sector (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2025, s. 5; Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Prescribed Offence under section 127A) Rules, r. 2).

This guide covers the relevant Road Traffic Act powers only; other statutory stop and identity-check powers are outside its scope.