Obtaining a driving license
Any regular motorcar with unladen weigh less than 3000 KG falls under requires the driver to obtain Class 3 license (Manual Transmission - Any car WITH the clutch pedal). However, any vehicles without the clutch pedals is catergorised under automatic transmission which will only require drivers to obtain only an easier Class 3A license, but the driver will NOT be qualified to drive manual transmission cars.

Drivers must be 18 years old in order to qualify for a license including applying for theory lessons. Once a driver passes the Basic Driving Theory Test, he or she must apply for a Provisional Driving License (PDL), which lasts for one year, before taking practical driving lesson. However, a student can choose to apply and pass the Final Theory test before he/she applies for PDL and starts driving lesson. The last stage of obtaining a driving license is the pratical driving test which student must have a passed FTT result slip and a PDL.

The Basic Driving Theory Test (BTT) and Final Driving Theory Test (FTT) each contains 50 questions and last for 50 minutes, in order to pass the tests, one has to get at least 45 out of the 50 questions to be correct. The result will be shown immediately after the test on the same touchscreen monitor. There are some websites offering online question banks which students can use them for practice. SGDriving.net. is one of them.

Driving with a foreign licence in Singapore
Visitors (without student pass, work permit, employment pass or Singapore Permanent Resident, or other social passes) who have been in Singapore less than six months may drive with their foreign issued license. Conversion to a Singapore license is possible - ONLY IF the foreign license holder obtained the above privilages ONLY AFTER the person obtained the foreign license - by passing only the Basic Driving Theory test if the foreign issued license is not expired. No practical test is required.

Renewal of License
No renewing is required since the starting of the photocard license. The driving license will last the driver for lifetime.

Riding motorcycles registered on a different holder
In Singapore, it is illegal to ride a motorcycle if the rider's name is not entered in the insurance contract. For each motorcycle, only one co-rider can be entered. As the procedure to change the co-rider is rather easy, but fines for riding without insurance are high, it is urgently advised to follow these procedures before riding even a single meter.

Driver Improvement Points System
The Driver Improvement Points System (DIPS) is a system whereby demerit points will be added to the driver's record. The system is meant to deter drivers from infriging the rules-of-the-road and if they do, suspend their driving license for a period of time. This system requires offenders to re-sit and pass the driving test again from the beinging.

If a driver accumulates 24 demerit points within a period of two years, he/she will be suspended from driving for three months. If he/she had been suspended before, he/she will only be allowed to accumulate less than 12 demerit points a 12 months period. Initially, this system was only used for Singapore driving license holders until November 1 1999, the traffic police extended the system to foreign driving license holders which states that any foreigner who accumulates 24 demerit points in two years, will be prohibited from driving in Singapore for three months (first time prohibition) and up to a maximum of three years for subsequent offender.

Currently, drivers are now given demerit points if they commit certain traffic offences such as speeding and passengers not fastening their seat belts.

COE

Main article: Certificate of Entitlement

New car buyers are required to buy a Certificate of Entitlement. The term "bidding" is often used but, in practice, new car dealers assist in the process. Essentially, the COE is an added fee on the costs of a new car based on engine size. The COE is lower for cars with 1.6 litre (1600 cc) engines and smaller. COE's for car cost approximately S$14,000 to S$16,000 but the exact amount changes several times a year. The COE is valid for 10 years. There are provisions for a rebate of the COE if the car is scrapped before 10 years.

The COE costs has declined in recent years. The April 2001 COE (Category B: 1601 cc engine and larger) was S$34,930. The April 2007 COE for Category B was $15,989.

PARF PARF is a commonly used abbreviation for the Preferential Additional Registration Fee. A car owner may apply for a portion of this fee if a car is de-registered before 10 years. The term "Additional Registration Fee (ARF)" is calculated from 110% of Open Market Value (OMV). If a car is less than 5 years old, then the PARF is 75% of the ARF.

OMV OMV stands for "open market value". It is determined by Singapore customs and is equivalent to the price of the car, including freight and other incidental charges.

License plates Vehicle license plates in Singapore are typically the same 21 inch size found in many European countries. Red license plates indicate that the car may be driven only during off peak times unless a daily fee is paid. Off peak times are from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, Saturdays after 3 p.m., and all day Sunday. Off peak license plates costs less than the regular license plates. Standard license plates in Singapore are usually black with silver or white lettering, though some choose a white front/yellow rear plate combination.

Driving safety
Driving while using a hand held mobile phone is prohibited. Drink driving is also not permitted. The level of intoxication is considered 80 mg% (0.08%) of alcohol, although it is illegal to drive if impaired, even if the level of alcohol is under the limit.

In 2007, Singaporean TV actor Christopher Lee was sentenced to 30 days in prison, later increased to 6 weeks, S$4,500 in fines, and disqualified from driving for three years after he caused injury to a motorcyclist during a hit and run injury. Reportedly, mitigating factors included that he paid over S$70,000 in compensation to the injured. He eventually served nearly a month in prison. (May 28-June 25, 2007) In the United States, Paris Hilton was sentenced to 45 days in prison after a second drink driving incident although the actual time was reduced to 23 days.

http://www.hollywood.com/news/Hiltons_Release_Date_Confirmed/4303392

Car safety
All cars registered in Singapore are required to have seat belts. All occupants of a car must wear a seat belt. There is a medical exception. If the number of occupants exceeds the number of seat belts in the car, the additional occupants can sit in the car without wearing a seatbelt. The law requiring the use of seat belts does not apply to occupants of foreign registered cars, even if the car is equipped with seat belts.

There are a number of restrictions for modifying cars. These include adding certain engine and wheel modifications, window tinting and other changes. Aftermarket high intensity discharge (HID) lamps are prohibited as are air horns and tow hooks. However, there are still several large aftermarket car parts stores, such as Autobacs and Stamford Tyre.

Car safety crash tests
The Singapore government accepts the crash safety standards of the EU and Japan. Cars made in the EU and Japan which pass local standards do not need to pass additional safety standards to be sold in Singapore. Cars may be privately imported into Singapore if they have an EU Certificate of Conformity or the Japanese Completion Inspection Certificate, both of which incorportate emissions and safety standards. Not all cars sold in Singapore have been tested by the EuroNCAP, which is a car safety testing organization jointly operated by several European government agencies, that crash tests cars that can be legally sold in several European countries.