Regulation of illegal vehicle modifications in Singapore

• Illegal vehicle modifications ("IVM") have apparently become more prevalent in Hong Kong in recent years, usually seen in equipment of tampered engines and/or loud exhausts closely relating to speeding or even illegal street racing. Not only do IVM pose threats to road safety, the excessive noise generated by them has also become a looming nuisance to residents nearby especially during late nights. While the Police does not maintain enforcement statistics specific to IVM, the number of IVM-related noise complaints surged from a single case in 2011 to 29 cases in 2021.^{1Legend symbol denoting Latest figures were provided by the Environmental Protection Department on request on 26 July 2022.}

• Under the Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374A), drivers are prohibited to alter the original specifications of motor vehicles (e.g. engines and silencers to reduce noise emission) stipulated in their first registration without prior approval from the Transport Department ("TD"). However, it is difficult to identify IVM because private cars are usually subject to annual vehicle examination starting only from their sixth year of registration, unless they are spotted in ad hoc roadblock operations. In addition, the maximum penalty of a fine of HK$10,000 and imprisonment of six months for IVM is considered to be modest. There are thus increasing calls in society to step up enforcement and increase the deterrent effect.^{2Legend symbol denoting 星島日報(2021) and am730 (2022).} Over the past five years, the subject of IVM was discussed at the Legislative Council ("LegCo") on at least four occasions.^{3Legend symbol denoting In February 2022, the Panel on Transport of LegCo referred the IVM issue to the Government "for an initial response before considering further action". Yet no formal reply is received so far. See GovHK (2019), Panel on Environmental Affairs (2018, 2021) and Panel on Transport (2022).}
• Globally, many advanced metropolitans (e.g. London, Paris and New York) have tightened the regulation against IVM in recent years, in the wake of both road traffic hazards and environmental concerns.^{4Legend symbol denoting Regulatory measures taken include (a) more frequent vehicle inspections in the European Union; (b) extending enforcement against IVM from car owners to garages in New York; (c) imposing stiffer penalties in Toronto; and (d) applying innovative devices (i.e. sound activated camera) for detecting noisy vehicles in London and Paris. See Global News (2019), European Parliament (2021), New York State Governor (2021), CBC (2021), le News (2021), GovUK (2022) and The New York Times (2022).} In Asia, the multi-pronged measures taken in Singapore since 2012 should have some reference value for Hong Kong, as these two densely populated cities share common road traffic concerns. This issue of Essentials first reviews regulatory developments on vehicle modifications in Hong Kong, followed by respective measures taken in Singapore.

• Road safety risks and adverse health impacts caused by IVM: IVM is an emerging concern in many cities, not only because of the threats to road safety posed by the resultant reckless behaviours (e.g. speeding) of drivers, but also emission of noise annoying residents nearby. Reportedly, the loudest noise emanated from a modified exhaust or engine could reach 113 dB (similar to a thunderclap or a rock concert), nearly tripled the maximum night noise standard (40 dB) recommended by the World Health Organization. Frequent exposure of road traffic noise may cause adverse health risks like sleep disturbance, distress and cardiovascular disease, particularly for children and elderly people.^{5Legend symbol denoting World Health Organization (2010) and The Times (2022).}

• Looming concerns over IVM in Hong Kong: According to TD, the number of vehicles involved in road traffic accidents due to defective or dangerous vehicles and furious/dangerous driving had soared by 81% within a decade to 58 in 2021.^{6Legend symbol denoting Defective/dangerous vehicles may also include older cars in poor conditions. See Transport Department (various years).} As regards IVM-induced noise nuisance, it often goes hand in hand with illegal car racing or speeding during midnights, especially in such hot spots as West Kowloon Expressway, Lung Cheung Road, Pok Fu Lam Road and Sai Sha Road. Partly indicative of this, the annual number of noise complaints related to "IVM, speeding or car racing" had climbed up noticeably, from no more than a handful of cases generally from 2011 to 2015 to around 30 cases in the last two years (Figure 1). Likewise, the number of vehicles emitting excessive noise which are required to go through mandatory check under Vehicle Examination Order ("VEO") soared by 60% in five years to 473 cases in 2021.^{7Legend symbol denoting Latest figures were provided by the Transport and Logistics Bureau and the Environmental Protection Department on request in July 2022. The Transport Department has maintained the figures of VEO issued to vehicles emitting excessive noise since 2017. See 東方日報(2009), 香港01(2019), South China Morning Post (2016) and Transport Department (various years).}
  Based on a study commissioned by the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") 10 years ago, as many as 856 100 people or 14% of local adults were estimated to be annoyed by road traffic noise in 2012, with 38% of them "adversely affected at night" or had their sleep "highly disturbed". Road traffic noise due to IVM has thus become an increasing concern throughout Hong Kong. This subject was widely discussed across almost all of the 18 District Councils, on at least 46 occasions between 2019 and 2022.^{8Legend symbol denoting Environmental Protection Department (2012), 深水埗區議會(2022) and 九龍城區議會(2022).}
  Figure 1 – Local noise complaints related to illegally modified vehicles
  
  Note: Complaints lodged to the Environmental Protection Department, Transport Department, Highways Department and Housing Department.
  Source: Environmental Protection Department.
• Existing regulation: Under the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374), all motor vehicles must comply with the statutory safety and emission standards (including noise level) in their first registration. Moreover, drivers should always keep their vehicles in good working order and they are not allowed to carry out any unauthorized alteration. Offenders are liable to a maximum fine of HK$10,000 and an imprisonment for up to six months.^{9Legend symbol denoting GovHK (2019).}
• Enforcement actions: At present, all private cars manufactured six years and above after first registration must undergo annual vehicle examination at designated centres but motorcycles are fully exempted from the requirement. Vehicles failing the examination (e.g. found with illegally modified parts) will not have their licence renewed, unless they are restored to original specifications and can pass a fresh examination.
  On ad hoc basis, the Police conducts territory-wide roadblock operations against speeding and illegal racing. If the intercepted vehicles are suspected to have been illegally modified, the Police will refer the cases to TD to serve on the drivers concerned a VEO for mandatory vehicle checks within three weeks. For those vehicles with IVM posing immediate danger to other road users (e.g. tottering or loosening of vehicle accessories), they will be immediately detained in Police Vehicle Pounds for inspections within 72 hours. Prosecutions will be initiated for any illegally modified parts found.^{10Legend symbol denoting GovHK (2022) and Wong Tai Sin District Council (2020).}
• Major issues of concerns: First on the existing regulation itself, while some are concerned that the maximum penalty of HK$10,000 and six months of imprisonment is considered "too lenient" for deterrent effects, the examination-free requirement for private cars in the first five years after registration is considered to be too long, not to mention the arrangement of full exemption for all motorcycles.^{11Legend symbol denoting South China Morning Post (2016), Southern District Council (2016) and 星島日報(2021).} Secondly on enforcement, some critics feel that garages offering IVM should be targeted as well in enforcement.^{12Legend symbol denoting Independent Police Complaints Council (2021), 西貢區議會(2017) and 荃灣區議會(2021).} For owners of vehicles with IVM, they could fix their cars at these garages to disguise compliance with the law before the mandatory examination, but reverting back to IVM afterwards. This regulatory "loophole" could be manifested in the high pass rate of 79% on average in mandatory checks for vehicles served with VEO due to excessive noise emitted over the past five years.
  Thirdly on roadblock operation, some residents felt that individual roadblock operation usually lasting for just a few hours was difficult to effectively combat IVM. In response to the suggested adoption of smart technology to spot IVM, EPD completed a trial experiment of using automated sound-activated camera to detect IVM in July 2021. Reportedly, the trial results are satisfactory. Yet its full adoption is subject to further tests and feedback from law enforcement agencies.^{13Legend symbol denoting The trial of sound-activated camera achieved an on-site accuracy rate at around 80%, and will be further tested on busier roads in future. According to the reply from the Environmental Protection Department on 26 July 2022, the smart device had been introduced to relevant enforcement departments in early 2022. See Panel on Environmental Affairs (2021) and Cheng et al. (2021).}

• Similar to Hong Kong, unauthorized alteration of vehicles is prohibited in Singapore for both road safety and environmental reasons. Yet all motor vehicles in Singapore are subject to the first mandatory inspection in the third year of their first registration, three years earlier than that in Hong Kong. Henceforth, private cars in Singapore need to be inspected again biennially, and annually for motorcycles. While the Land Transport Authority ("LTA") is responsible for vehicle inspections in Singapore, the Traffic Police is the enforcement agency.^{14Legend symbol denoting Private cars will need to undergo mandatory inspections annually since the tenth year of their first registration in Singapore. See Parliament of Singapore (2012a) and Land Transport Authority (2019).}
• Policy reviews in 2012 and 2017: Despite more frequent vehicle inspections, there were increased complaints against IVM-induced noise in Singapore after the late 2000s. Reflecting this, the average monthly offences of IVM quadrupled from 146 in 2008 to 610 in 2011, before further tripling to 1 835 in 2014. In response to "significant feedback from the public", the Singaporean government tightened the regulation and amended the Road Traffic Act ("the Act") twice, in December 2012 and March 2017 respectively.^{15Legend symbol denoting Parliament of Singapore (2012b, 2021a) and todayonline (2015).}
• Key statutory measures: The Singaporean government is currently taking multiple measures to curb IVM as summarized below:
  • (a)
    Tighter mandatory inspections for repeated offenders: As the share of repeated offenders of IVM in Singapore doubled in just three years to 15% in 2014, LTA tightened vehicle inspection regime specifically for them in November 2015, with a view to vastly increasing their opportunity costs. In short, the vehicles of second-time offenders are subject to a mandatory inspection every six months within two years, whereas the frequency of such inspection for those with three times or more offence records will increase to once every three months within two years.^{16Legend symbol denoting Land Transport Authority (2015).} Moreover, vehicles of repeated offenders of IVM are detained for up to three months as from 2012;^{17Legend symbol denoting Parliament of Singapore (2012b).}
  • (b)
    Targeting garages as well in enforcement: Before the late 2010s, enforcement in Singapore used to focus on vehicle owners only, without legal action against law-breaking garages. Yet the Act was amended in 2017 to spell out a clear legal responsibility for vehicle repair workshop owners as well. Enforcement action against garage owners offering IVM has also been intensified more recently, with two prosecutions in 2021 alone;^{18Legend symbol denoting Parliament of Singapore (2021a, 2022a).}
  • (c)
    Increased penalty for greater deterrent effect: The maximum penalty on IVM has increased noticeably to S$5,000 (HK$27,750) and/or imprisonment for three months in 2017, from S$2,000 (HK$11,100) and/or three-month jail beforehand. Penalties are doubled for repeated offenders.

    After a severe road traffic accident associated with speeding causing five deaths in February 2021, LTA doubled the composition fine for first-time offenders of IVM to S$1,000 (HK$5,550) in July of the same year. Egregious cases of first-time offences will also be actively prosecuted in the Court for heavier penalties. For those knowingly driving a vehicle with IVM, the Singaporean government is considering imposing demerit points (which could lead to the drivers being disqualified from driving) as well, on top of fines;^{19Legend symbol denoting Parliament of Singapore (2021a, 2021b, 2022a).}
  • (d)
    Trial of smart technology to spot IVM: Singapore is a pioneer in using automated sound-activated camera to detect noisy vehicles since 2014. However, the Singaporean government indicated in April 2022 that it had no plan to fully deploy such device for enforcement by now, mainly due to the difficulty of attributing the source of noise to a specific vehicle on busy roads. Yet it reiterated its openness to other new smart technologies in the future;^{20Legend symbol denoting Agha et al. (2014) and Parliament of Singapore (2022b).} and
  • (e)
    Tightening noise emission standards for new vehicles as from 2023: To further control road traffic noise, the Singaporean government will tighten noise emission standards to a band of 68 dB-77 dB (equivalent to a normal conversation) for new motor vehicles registered as from April 2023, as compared with the existing standard of 71 dB-82 dB (which is the same as that adopted in Hong Kong currently).^{21Legend symbol denoting The Straits Times (2021).}
• Policy effectiveness: The above legislative amendments and enhanced inspections seemingly have increased the opportunity costs of both drivers and garages in carrying out unauthorized vehicle alterations in Singapore. Between 2015 and 2020, the average monthly caseload of IVM plummeted by 69% to 550. Nonetheless, LTA admits the challenge in proving culpability of suspected law-breaking garages and is studying other measures to gather evidence more effectively in this regard.^{22Legend symbol denoting At present, the law enforcement agencies need the vehicle owners' consent of serving as prosecution witnesses to identify the workshops offering them illegal modification service. Reportedly, those vehicle owners investigated were not "cooperative". See Parliament of Singapore (2021a, 2022a).}