Driving in Singapore Voyage Tips and guide

Driving is not a popular option for visitors to Singapore, as public transport covers virtually the entire island and it's generally cheaper to take taxis all day than to rent. You will usually be looking at upwards from $100 per day for the smallest vehicle from the major rental companies, although local ones can be cheaper and there are sometimes good weekend prices available. This does not include petrol at around $3/litre or electronic road pricing (ERP) fees, and rentals often charge extra or outright prohibit driving to Malaysia.

If you plan on touring Malaysia by car, it makes much more sense to pick up your car across the border to Johor Bahru, where both rentals and petrol are half price, and you have the option of dropping your car off elsewhere in the country. This also avoids the unwelcome extra attention that Singapore number plates tend to get from thieves and greedy cops.

Foreign licences in English or from other ASEAN member countries are valid in Singapore for up to a year from your date of entry, after which you will have to convert your foreign licence to a Singapore version. Other foreign licences must be accompanied by an International Driving Permit (IDP) or an official English translation (usually available from your embassy) to be valid.

Singaporeans drive on the left and the legal driving age is 18. Roads in Singapore are in excellent condition and driving habits are generally good compared to other countries in the region, with most people following the traffic rules due to stringent enforcement, although road courtesy tends to be sorely lacking and occasionally haphazard driving may be encountered.

The speed limit is 90 km/h (56 mph) on major expressways (with the exception of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) being 80 km/h (50 mph)) and typically 50 km/h (31 mph) on most medium-sized roads. While signs are usually good, expressways are almost universally referred to only by acronym, so the Pan Island Expressway is "PIE", the East Coast Parkway is "ECP", etc.

All passengers must wear seat belts and using a phone while driving is banned.

Drink-driving is not tolerated: the maximum blood alcohol content is 0.08%, with roadblocks set up at night to catch offenders, who are heavily fined and possibly jailed. Even if your blood alcohol level does not exceed the legal limit, you can still be charged with drink-driving if the police are convinced that your ability to control the vehicle has been compromised by the presence of alcohol (e.g. if you are involved in a collision).

The police conduct periodic roadblocks and speed cameras are omnipresent. Fines will be sent by mail to you or your rental agency, who will then pass on the cost with a surcharge. If stopped for a traffic offence, don't even think about trying to bribe your way out; corruption is a serious offence in Singapore. All passengers must wear seat belts and using a phone while driving is banned. Drink-driving is not tolerated: the maximum blood alcohol content is 0.08%, with roadblocks set up at night to catch offenders, who are heavily fined and possibly jailed. Even if your blood alcohol level does not exceed the legal limit, you can still be charged with drink-driving if the police are convinced that your ability to control the vehicle has been compromised by the presence of alcohol (e.g. if you are involved in a collision). The police conduct periodic roadblocks and speed cameras are omnipresent. Fines will be sent by mail to you or your rental agency, who will then pass on the cost with a surcharge. If stopped for a traffic offence, don't even think about trying to bribe your way out; corruption is a serious offence in Singapore.

Parking is tolerably easy to find but very rarely free, with rates varying depending on time, day of week, and location, from around $3/hour at private CBD carparks to $1/hour at public carparks, usually payable with the CashCard.

Electronic road payments (ERP) require a stored-value CashCard, which is usually arranged by the rental agency, but it's your responsibility to ensure it has enough value. ERP gantries are activated at different times, usually in the expected direction of most cars. As a rule of thumb, gantries found in roads leading to the CBD are activated during the morning rush hour while gantries found in roads exiting the CBD are activated during the evening rush hour. Passing through an active ERP gantry with insufficient value will mean that an alert is sent to your registered address. You must pay an administrative fee in addition to the difference between the remaining amount and the actual charge. You have a limited time to settle this, or the penalty becomes harsher.

Although Singapore is highly urbanised, it is still possible to encounter wild animals on the road in forested areas, particularly when driving at night. In the event of an animal collision, you are required by law to stop and contact the authorities immediately; failure to do so could result in a fine of up to $3,000 (or $5,000 for repeat offenders). If the animal might still be alive, call the NParks Animal Response Centre at ☏ +65-1800-476-1600 or the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) Wildlife Rescue Hotline at ☏ +65-9783-7782. If you are sure that the animal is dead, you will need to call the National Environmental Agency (NEA) to dispose of the carcass at ☏ +65-1800-2255-632.