Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced that 20 electric scooters were seized for riding on the road and more than 1,400 notices issued for using non-compliant power-assisted bicycles (PAB) between January and September this year.
LTA said that it has been stepping up enforcement efforts to deter unsafe and reckless riding behaviour by cyclists and personal mobility device users since May this year.
LTA has carried out more than 560 enforcement deployments across Singapore with the set-up of an active mobility enforcement team.
It also said that more than 860 advisories were issued to cyclists, power-assisted bicycles (PABs) users and personal mobility device (PMD) users caught riding in an unsafe manner on footpaths and cycling paths.
Under the law, PMDs are not allowed for use on the roads.
According to LTA, most of the users were observed to be travelling dangerously at high speeds with devices that can go as fast as 70km/h, endangering themselves as well as other road users.
LTA stated that anyone found using non-compliant vehicles may be charged in Court, and fined up to $2,000 or jailed up to 3 months for the first offence under the Road Traffic Act. For subsequent offences, the offender may be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to 6 months upon conviction. The non-compliant vehicle could also be seized for investigations.
It also said that it also carry out joint operations with the Traffic Police to enforce against PAB users who are found to be riding recklessly on the roads besides technical offences. Some of these common offences include riding against the flow of traffic or riding without a helmet.
LTA urges all cyclists and PMD users to ride safely and observe safe riding behaviour at all times and will not hesitate to take enforcement action against any rider found to be riding recklessly or in a manner that cause harm to pedestrians and other road users.
Accidents involving PABs are on the rise, prompting concerns from the members of public and Members of Parliament have raised questions on the action to be taken by the Ministry of Transport to address the issue.
Senior Minister of State for Transport, Josephine Tan said in Parliament that in the twelve months to June this year, there had been 12 reported cases of on-road accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists.
She said that bicycles and personal mobility devices offer great convenience and benefits when used safely and responsibly. They are environmentally friendly, promote a healthy lifestyle, and affordable. In many cities around the world, there is growing interest to use bicycles and personal mobility devices to get around. City planners and administrators also see benefits in promoting their use.
She said, however, the careless behaviour of a small minority of users has caused accidents and led some members of the public to oppose their proliferation. She noted that it would be unfortunate if the careless behaviour that allowed of this small minority to prevent the larger majority of responsible and considerate cyclists and personal mobility device users from enjoying the benefits of such travel modes.
Ms Josephine said that the sensible approach is to adopt measures that will help prevent accidents. Earlier this year, the Active Mobility Advisory Panel, which comprises representatives from a broad spectrum of society, issued a list of recommendations on how this can be achieved and will be presented to Parliament soon.
Just last month, a road accident, which involved a trailer and three power-assisted bicycles, claimed two lives and left one injured.
