SINGAPORE: From Friday (Feb 1), eight-seater passenger cars will no longer be subject to their current 70kmh vehicle speed limit, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Tuesday.

Instead, they will be required to observe the same road speed limits as other passenger cars.



Currently, other smaller passenger cars do not have vehicle speed limits.

"Given advancements in vehicle safety standards, LTA will remove the vehicle speed limits for eight-seater passenger cars from Feb 1, 2019," said LTA in a news release. "With this change, eight-seater passenger cars will only be required to observe the same road speed limits as other passenger cars."

"This is in line with the practice in other countries."

Meanwhile, from February the authority will also start a new speed limit trial for heavier mobile cranes which will set the vehicle speed limit of such cranes to 40kmh.



Currently, mobile cranes with a laden weight of up to 24,000kg have a vehicle speed limit of 40kmh, while mobile cranes with a laden weight exceeding this have a vehicle speed limit of 20kmh.

However, the authority said it had received feedback from the industry that the 20kmh speed limit was too low and resulted in longer travelling time on the road, which may cause driver fatigue.

As part of the six-month trial, mobile cranes with a laden weight above 24,000kg will be able to go faster, with a vehicle speed limit of 40kmh.

During the trial all mobile cranes will have to adhere to the road speed limit or the vehicle speed limit, whichever is lower.

"This decision takes into account improvements in vehicle technology and design that allow mobile cranes to travel safely at higher speeds, and is also in line with practice in other countries such as Australia, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom," said LTA.