Consider tougher laws for cyclists

I refer to the report “In a first, State appeals for offender to get lighter sentence” (Sept 19).

District Judge Lee-Khoo Poh Choo had been spot on when she noted that a bicycle, unlike a car, has no registration number to trace its rider and no insurance cover under which victims injured in an accident can seek compensation. She had mentioned that cyclists know the risks against them are low, without any consequences when they ride in an unsafe manner. Her points are still valid.

Statistics from the Traffic Police show that more summonses have been issued to cyclists over the years. In 2011, the number was 1,200, rising to 1,455 in 2013.

Between January and June last year, it was 726, up from 705 in the corresponding period in 2013. These are intractable offences: Riding on footpaths and rash riding such as running red lights or injuring others.

In his oral reply to then Member of Parliament Irene Ng, in 2010, then Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Home Affairs) Masagos Zulkifli disclosed that there were 420 fatal and serious accidents involving cyclists in the first nine months of 2009.

More than half of these cyclists were at fault. For instance, they had changed lanes without due care, failed to keep a lookout or did not give way to traffic with right of way.

It is time to consider tougher laws to rein in reckless cyclists before the number of pedestrian injuries, or even deaths, become a permanent statistic. As with motorbikes, motorised bicycles should incur road tax, to increase riders’ responsibilities.

Compounding the problem is the fact that motorists are usually penalised in an accident, even though cyclists are riding across pedestrian crossings and at higher speeds than pedestrians, giving motorists little time to react, or riding against traffic.

Cyclists also ride on pavements, and another bad habit of theirs is to ride past bus stops despite the many commuters waiting or boarding the buses. This is also dangerous for alighting commuters.

I have witnessed numerous near misses involving the elderly at bus stops, where the cyclists had to jam on their brakes to avoid a collision. These are accidents waiting to happen. Must we wait for injuries or death before there is greater enforcement by the Traffic Police?

Proper sharing of roads and pavements by cyclists and other users means not hogging the roads and pavements, without due consideration for others.