SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Transport (MOT) is taking steps to make footpaths safe for pedestrians but if the behaviour of personal mobility device (PMD) users does not improve, it will have "no choice" but to completely ban their use in Singapore, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Janil Puthucheary on Monday (Oct 7).

He told Parliament that a ban would be “a loss” as the Land Transport Authority (LTA) still believes that PMDs are useful devices for first- and last-mile connectivity as long as they are used responsibly.

Dr Puthucheary was fielding questions from three Members of Parliament (MPs) on whether the measures that have been implemented by the LTA to reduce the number of PMD-related accidents have been effective.

Responding to these questions, he reiterated some of the measures that the authority has announced to tackle the issue. For example, the LTA is currently working with town councils to implement pedestrian-only zones at all town centres.

The LTA is also working with MPs to identify “hot spots” where quick measures can be implemented to improve the safety of pedestrians, such as widening footpaths and installing speed-regulating strips.

In September, the Active Mobility Advisory Panel (AMAP) released a set of recommendations which urged the Government, among other things, to mandate a theory test, ban the use of mobile phones unless mounted or used in a hands-free manner, and impose a minimum age requirement of 16 for all e-scooter riders on public paths.

Dr Puthucheary noted recent incidents, such as the death of an elderly woman who had collided on a bicycle path with a rider of a non-compliant PMD that was capable of going up to 80km/h.

He said in the light of such developments, the ministry will be undertaking a comprehensive review to consider whether the Government needs to rethink its approach and introduce additional measures to improve public path safety and reduce PMD-related fire risks.

“Please give us a month or two to do this thorough review,” he said.

INTRODUCE A SPEED LIMITER, BAN NEW PMD SALES: MPs

In supplementary questions, MP for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Lee Bee Wah and MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Liang Eng Hwa gave other suggestions on what can be done to reduce PMD-related accidents.

Dr Lee asked if the ministry would consider making speed limiter installation compulsory for all PMDs. A speed limiter is a device that prevents a vehicle from exceeding a certain speed limit that has been set by the driver.

To this, Dr Puthucheary replied that a compulsory speed limitation could “potentially be possible” and that the MOT will study the solution in greater detail in its review.

Meanwhile, Mr Liang asked if the Government would consider banning the sale and import of new PMDs in Singapore.

Dr Puthucheary noted that new PMD devices that are imported and sold to consumers will have to comply with the regulatory framework that has already been introduced by the LTA.

“What we are dealing with is the errant behaviour by people who have previously brought in very large and fast devices or illegally-modified devices,” he said.

“Given the number of devices that are already here in Singapore today, on our footpaths and our roads, I think that there are other steps that we need to consider as well,” he added.

However, Dr Puthucheary said that the ministry will look into the suggestion during its review.