Off-peak car licences go on sale online

Off-peak car licences go on sale online
from channelnewsasia

SINGAPORE: Off-peak car owners can buy electronic day (e-day) licences online from Monday, which can be used starting November 23.

Currently, paper licences have to be bought and displayed before an off-peak vehicle can be used outside off-peak hours.

More than 1,000 car owners were fined for driving off-peak cars without a valid off-peak licence between January to October this year. But on November 23, the e-day licences will replace the paper licences, and drivers can buy the e-day licences after using their cars during peak hours as long as they do so before midnight the next day.

Off-peak car owners are looking forward to greater convenience with the new system. "There was one particular incident when I wanted to use the car early in the morning, but just realised I had run out of coupons," said Chen Zhi Chun, an off-peak car owner. "I made my way to a 7-11 (store), thinking they might sell it, but they did not and I had to wait until eight o'clock when the post office opened."

The new licences can be bought online anytime between 6am and midnight daily through the one.motoring portal, AXS stations located island-wide and mobile-SMS services via MobileP@y. To ease the transition to the new licence system, letters and guidebooks on the new system were mailed to all current off-peak car owners in September.

Unused paper day licences can be returned between October 26 this year and May 31 next year for a refund, or for conversion to e-day licences.

Road tax offences creeping up again

Road tax offences creeping up again
By Christopher TanSenior Correspondent

COMPANY director Lee Dong Taek was fined $1,000 yesterday after a car owned by his company was driven without valid road tax and insurance cover.For the second offence, he also received a 12-month driving ban.Lee, 45, was among dozens of people hauled to court this month for road tax-related infringements.According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), about 11,000 motorists are late in renewing their vehicle road tax each month.There are as many reasons for being late as there are owners, but most often, it is plain forgetfulness, or at times, one spouse thinks the other has renewed it.Other reasons include financial difficulty.The majority of taxes owed are for smaller cars, with the sums involved usually less than $1,000 each.Late road tax renewals are the most common infringement recorded by the LTA - ahead of other offences such as keeping deregistered cars and using a vehicle without insurance. Offences related to off-peak cars are also on the rise.This is despite the LTA sending out tax renewal notices close to the date of expiry, and the prospect of fines for late payments.An owner of a 1.6-litre car who is late in renewing its road tax faces fines of between $10 - if he is late for up to a month - and $235 - if he is more than three months overdue.Motorists who are late with renewals should not drive those cars. In fact, it is technically an offence to keep a vehicle without a valid road tax. Thousands of people are caught and summoned each year for driving without a valid road tax.Mr Alvin Chia, LTA's deputy director of investigations, said 3,570 such summonses were issued last year. And in the first half of this year, 1,508 summonses were issued.Both the owner of a vehicle and whoever uses it without valid tax can be taken to task.In some cases, such as when an owner is unable to pay the road tax or the fine for late renewal, the LTA will seize the vehicle.Mr Chia said that 1,195 vehicles were seized last year. The number this year could be significantly higher, with 891 seized in the first six months already.The numbers, although lower than the tally five years ago, are creeping up again because of the economic slump and the recent spurt in Singapore's vehicle population.Seized vehicles are held in a pound before they are auctioned off to recover the taxes owed. Each quarter, the authority auctions off about 100 vehicles, the majority of which are two-wheelers.Owners can redeem their vehicles by paying the backdated taxes and penalties.Those who are caught driving without a valid road tax are usually also found guilty of not having valid motor insurance cover. The latter offence carries a heftier penalty, including a mandatory driving ban of 12 months.The LTA's Mr Chia said such stiff measures are necessary "to protect the interests of other motorists as victims of road accidents involving an uninsured vehicle may not be able to seek due compensation".Road tax cases have been taking up courtroom time for some years now, prompting at least one district judge to suggest that LTA do more to remind owners of the seriousness of such offences.The Automobile Association of Singapore suggests another measure.Its chief executive Lee Wai Mun said: "Under the current difficult economic climate, it is not uncommon for people to delay in making payment for some of their bills. The LTA could send reminders to motorists on their road tax payment. We also encourage motorists to keep track of their road tax renewal dates."Mr Chia said: "A renewal notice is sent to the vehicle owner about four weeks before the expiry date."Over the years, LTA has also made it more convenient for motorists to pay or renew their road tax by increasing the number of payment channels."These include the Internet, AXS stations and Giro. There are also more than 100 road tax collection centres islandwide, including all SingPost branches and vehicle inspection centres."Owners with SingPass (accounts) may wish to consider signing up for a free e-mail or SMS alert service for additional reminders," said Mr Chia, adding they could do so at http://www.myecitizen.sg/.

Source: http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/Owners/Story/A1Story20091023-175461.html

Only 3 out of 25 motor insurers post profit : MAS

Only 3 out of 25 motor insurers post profit : MAS

- extract from Business Time

JUST three of the 25 insurers involved in the motor business here made an underwriting profit last year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said yesterday.

As a result, MAS is urging motor insurers to tighten underwriting standards to stem losses. It has also acknowledged the problem of inflated claims, and asks motorists to cooperate in keeping premiums down.

'We noted instances of insurers merely matching or giving fixed discounts off the premium quotations of their competitors without giving due regard to their own underwriting standards,' MAS executive director (insurance supervision) Low Kwok Mun said at the annual general meeting luncheon of the General Insurance Association (GIA).

Last week, GIA reported a record motor underwriting loss of $214 million for 2008 - more than twice that of 2007. This was despite a 21 per cent increase in premiums collected to $906 million.....

The fact of the matter is that as long as workshops continue to try to cheat the system, premium will go up.