Innovative Signs of the Times

LTA has just announced the Extension of New Road Safety Measures to More Locations. I have not personally driven over the triangles at the pilot sites so I will probably slow down wondering if the vertex will cause my car to rumble or slip. I used to ride a two-wheeler so painted areas on rainy days pose risk when cornering. Are the triangles painted with non-slip paint? I certainly hope so. Was a contest held to name this new sign? I must say that it has a creative name of Traffic Calming Marking (TrCM) ... and I want to suggest planting aromatic herbs along those stretches to complete the calming and therapeutic effect.


The second new safety sign is the cool Your Speed Sign (YSS). It is an electronic sign that displays the speed of a passing vehicle so that you will be more aware of your speed and consequently encourages you to keep to the limit. Gee, I think this new gadget is great as a calibrator. I would compare my speedometer reading to that of the YSS so it may become a distracter.

What do you think? Innovative Signs of the Times?

COE Prediction - July 2009 2nd Bidding Exercise

Although COE quota premiums posted strong increases across the categories for cars to end at their highest levels in over 12 months, the oversubscribed rate for the July 1st bidding exercise lowered from 24% to 18% for Category A COEs and from 41% to 35% for Category B COEs respectively when compared to the previous bidding exercise. The reduction in bids is a surprise since the time elapse from the last bidding exercise to the first one in July is THREE weeks.

It seems that resistance from the rising car prices is kicking in. The traffic at car showrooms should be dampen over the next two weeks. The one event that may sustain the demand is the CATS Classified Car-nival to be held on Sunday July 12 at the Singapore Expo.

My prediction is that the quota premiums for the next bid should remain flat or raise slightly. The only blip expected for Category B is when Ferrari's new distributor acts on the 120+ orders for the new model California convertible that were refunded from Hong Seh Motors, the previous distributor.

Prediction on July 9:
Category A: $14,000-15,000
Category B: $16,000-17,000

Verdict on July 22:
Category A: ?
Category B: ?

COE Prediction - July 2009 1st Bidding Exercise

The oversubscribed rate for the June 2nd bidding exercise was 24% for Category A COEs and 41% for Category B COEs respectively. I also observed a spike in the over-subscription of Category E Open COEs to 115% from the usual of 75-100%. The time elapse from the last bidding exercise to the first one in July is THREE weeks so dealers have an additional week to collect the sales order. Judging from past trend, the quota premium is likely to continue its climb and the easy profit from the stock market may fuel even more demand.

Now that H1N1 is beyond the containment strategy, anxious parents and loved ones are ferrying their school-going kids to minimize the risk of infection of riding on public transportation especially during peak hours. Anyone seen coughing badly in a crowded MRT train will certainly raise many eyebrows. So will you pay for the safety of your own cabin space?

Prediction on June 30:
Category A: $14,000-15,000
Category B: $15,000-16,000

Verdict on July 8:
Category A: $14,310
Category B: $16,801

COE Prediction - June 2009 2nd Bidding Exercise

Sorry, folks! I am on an overseas holiday and do not have the time to do a deeper analysis. Here're my gut feel of the raising trend ...

Prediction on June 8:
Category A: $12,000-13,000
Category B: $11,000-12,000

Verdict on June 17:
Category A: $12,899
Category B: $14,840

No Guilty Party in Accidents

Strait Times: "No-fault motor claims" hits the headline news this morning. Motorists have recently been agonizing over fast raising motor insurance premium and inflated claims. A radical proposal to do away with third-party claims and have a "no-fault regime". The system is used in New Zealand, Canada and United States.

So what is a no-fault system? Motorists make claims against their own insurer in an accident irregardless who is at fault. The system eliminates disputes and theoretically reduces claims amount and insurance premiums in the long run.

The problem with third-party claims is that accident parties will always be encouraged to paint the story along this line "the other party is at fault!" so as to minimize any claim payout from his own motor insurance policy, avoid loss of no-claim discount and increased premium. There are vested interests for the workshop, doctor, lawyers, etc. to provide services and make profits, whether ethically or in-ethically. It is also difficult, expensive and time-consuming to prove who was at fault in court. Thus, I can understand why some insurers will just go ahead to pay any claim. They will just need to raise the insurance premium to recover the costs.

I strongly support the no-fault system since inflating claims will only impact the motorists' own insurance policy. Other major accident cases should then rightfully be addressed in court to find the party at fault.

COE Prediction - June 2009 1st Bidding Exercise

The oversubscribed rate for the May 2nd bidding exercise was similar to the previous exercise at about 45% for Category A COEs and increased from 25% to 35% for Category B COEs. Now that there are more news on green shoots signaling that the downturn has bottomed out, the sentiment seems to more optimistic than at the start of the year.

Dealers are now passing the burden of higher COE quota premium back to the buyers by increasing the price. Those with unfulfilled orders are likely to bid aggressively to close the deals since the quota is fixed by LTA while the dealers are fighting to win a bigger slice of the pie - earning less profit is better than having no sale completion.

Prediction on May 27:
Category A: $11,000-12,000
Category B: $10,000-11,000

Verdict on June 3:
Category A: $11,690
Category B: $11,889

SG Carpark Wiki

Wiki is such a great tool to allow the public to make update to content and thus, I have created the SG Carpark wiki for my fellow motorists. There are a few good sources of information on carpark rates but all of them do not allow for the public to update the information immediately when any change is identified.

Here is the URL to the Wiki http://sgcarpark.wikispaces.com/. Please contribute your regular destinations to make the wiki comprehensive and useful to all. Thanks.

COE Prediction - May 2009 2nd Bidding Exercise

The oversubscribed rate for the May 1st bidding exercise was about 45% for Category A COEs and 25% for Category B COEs. It seems that the smaller car COEs demand is well-sustained and is likely to be further supported with the improving economic outlook. I have also revised upwards my prediction for Category B COEs as keen buyers are likely to move in ahead of the others.

Prediction on May 15:
Category A: $8,000-9,000
Category B: $8,000-9,000

Verdict on May 20:
Category A: $9,889
Category B: $9,180

Don't Get Busted for Blocking Buses!

LTA has just announced the Mandatory Give Way to Buses scheme to be fully implemented over the next two years after a successful pilot. The new signs will be marked on 180 bus bays starting June 2009.

So what is the penalty for not giving way to buses exiting bus bays at bus stops with the new traffic signs and markings drawn? The penalty for the new offence is a fine of $130 but no demerit point will be given.

COE Prediction - May 2009 1st Bidding Exercise

The oversubscribed rate for the April 2nd bidding exercise was between 32% to 38%, lower than the previous 45%. The local paper has also interviewed an industry expert who commented that the COE quota premium will be supported in the next few rounds from accumulated orders over the last few weeks before the 2009/2010 quota reduction. You may have also read in the local forums about the long waiting time for some popular makes as the authorized distributors do not have stock on hand. In those cases, the ADs may opt to delay the bidding since some sales agreements allow for up to six non-guaranteed bids.

I reckon that the COE quota premium will stay in the $6K to $8K band.

Prediction on April 28:
Category A: $7,000-8,000
Category B: $7,000-8,000

Verdict on May 6:
Category A: $8,489
Category B: $7,552