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Govt fully accepts active mobility panel’s recommendations, will roll them out in early 2019

SINGAPORE — The Government on Tuesday (Sept 4) accepted all recommendations submitted last month by the Active Mobility Advisory Panel (AMAP) to boost safety for public path users — including the controversial proposal to cut the speed limit of personal mobility devices (PMDs) and bicycles from 15km/h to 10km/h on footpaths.

SINGAPORE — The Government on Tuesday (Sept 4) accepted all recommendations submitted last month by the Active Mobility Advisory Panel (AMAP) to boost safety for public path users — including the controversial proposal to cut the speed limit of personal mobility devices (PMDs) and bicycles from 15km/h to 10km/h on footpaths.

The recommendations will be implemented early next year, said the Ministry of Transport (MOT).

"In accepting these recommendations, the ministry agrees with the panel that the safety of all active mobility riders and public path users is paramount," it said.

The ministry said it will continue to monitor the situation to assess if further refinements to the regulations are needed. It will also strengthen public education efforts on the safe sharing of paths and roads.

 

Among the recommendations made by the panel on Aug 24 were:

  • Lowering of speed limit on footpaths from 15kmh to 10kmh.

  • A speed limit of 10kmh for motorised wheelchairs and mobility scooters.

  • Mandatory use of helmets for cyclists riding on the road. This does not apply to users crossing the road as part of their journey on footpaths and cycling/shared paths

  • Requirement for active mobility users to "stop and look" out for vehicles before crossing a road.

 

The first recommendation had drawn the ire of PMD and bicycle users, and led to the resignation of advisory panel member Francis Chu who disagreed with it.

Mr Chu, a member of the National Cycling Plan Steering Committee and co-founder of cycling enthusiast group LoveCyclingSG, suggested keeping the 15km/h limit and introducing a mandatory "slow to walking speed" rule when approaching pedestrians and blind spots.

The lower speed limit of 10km/h would be impossible to enforce, and make commuting by bicycle and PMDs impractical, he had said in a Facebook post on Aug 24. "In the event of an accident, it would be very difficult to prove if the rider is riding within the speed limit or not," Mr Chu said.

The advisory panel's recommendations sought to address an increase in the number of reported accidents involving PMDs, bicycles and power-assisted bicycles on public paths.

From 19 in 2015, the number grew to 42 in 2016 and 128 last year.

In its statement on Tuesday, the MOT said it would implement registration of e-scooters from January next year, as announced during its Committee of Supply debate in March.

It agreed with a recommendation by the panel — chaired by Associate Professor Mohammad Faishal Ibrahim, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Social and Family Development — to encourage the take up of third-party liability insurance, instead of making it mandatory.

MOT added that it will also raise the awareness and accessibility of existing avenues of seeking compensation, including "working with the Singapore Mediation Centre on making mediation more readily accessible".

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