Sharing the road with large vehicles in Singapore
Traffic Police guidance and statutory blind-spot device requirements for sharing roads with large vehicles.
Primary source: https://www.police.gov.sg/-/media/SPF/Knowledge-Hub/Traffic/FT-ENG-2126-Revised.pdf
The Traffic Police's Final Theory of Driving handbook warns that accidents involving large vehicles can be very serious. It notes that large vehicles are high, long and bulky, may block a driver's view, need plenty of space to turn, and may travel more slowly because of their size and load. This is handbook safety guidance, not a separate legal definition of “large vehicle” (SPF, Final Theory of Driving handbook, paras. 256–259).
Following a large vehicle
Leave a greater following distance than you normally would behind other vehicles. A close position can block your view of traffic ahead. If you follow a loaded vehicle too closely, the handbook says you may not be able to react in time if goods fall from it (SPF, Final Theory of Driving handbook, paras. 257–258).
When queued behind a large vehicle at a junction, keep enough distance to see the traffic lights. The handbook warns that following too closely may lead to a rear-end collision or cause a driver to cross on red inadvertently (SPF, Final Theory of Driving handbook, para. 114).
When a large vehicle turns
Some large vehicles may need to move right before turning left, or move left before turning right. Watch for this movement and do not pass on the side into which the vehicle intends to turn (SPF, Final Theory of Driving handbook, para. 259).
Blind-spot devices on specified heavy vehicles
The Construction and Use Rules define a heavy goods vehicle as a goods vehicle with a maximum laden weight exceeding 12,000 kg. A heavy goods vehicle registered on or after 1 April 2015 must have a device to observe blind spots, unless its construction means the device would not assist its driver. The device must meet one of the listed technical standards: EU Directive 2003/97/EC, the version of UN Regulation 46 in force on the vehicle’s manufacture date, or Japanese Article 44 in force on that date. For an earlier-registered heavy goods vehicle, the required device may instead be a Fresnel lens fitted on the front passenger-side window; the same construction-based exception applies (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules, rr. 2 and 20A).
A bus with a maximum laden weight over 8,000 kg registered before 1 October 2015 must have a device that lets its driver see the areas within 300 mm of the front and left side, or a Fresnel lens on the left that lets the driver see the left side. This requirement does not apply if the bus’s construction already gives its driver a clear view of the left side. A bus over the same weight threshold registered on or after 1 October 2015 must have a device that lets its driver see the areas within 300 mm of the front and left side; the exception applies if its construction already gives a clear view of both areas (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules, rr. 2 and 20A).
Coverage debt
The handbook gives no numeric following-distance value for driving behind a large vehicle and does not define a vehicle-size or weight threshold for the term. This article preserves that guidance without supplying a threshold or distance of its own.