It seems like it was just yesterday when Singapore’s problems with bicycles were having random people throwing bike-sharing bicycles down an HDB flat or into a river.
You know, those baffling cases of bike misuse and vandalism that no one ever understood the rationale behind.
Now it seems, with more people taking up cycling in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have a new problem: road safety.
Cyclists Not Abiding by Traffic Rules
According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), 34 cyclists were caught breaking road safety rules during the weekend in a joint enforcement operation by LTA and the Traffic Police.
Of these 34 cyclists, 16 were riding on the road without helmets, while another 16 had beaten the red lights. Two cyclists were also caught riding against the flow of traffic.
Similar Cases in the Past
This is not the first time that road cyclists have been caught breaking the Road Traffic Rules: many were caught no by LTA or TP officers, but by in-car cameras instead.
One case on 1 September 2019 consisted of a cyclist riding on the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) despite it being illegal for cyclists to ride on expressways. To make matters worse, instead of riding on the road shoulder, the cyclist was in the middle of the 5-lane expressway.
Such cases of riding on the expressway happened again on 20 December 2020 – and probably numerous other times – where a parent and a young child were videoed cycling along the East Coast Parkway (ECP).
In another case, two cyclists were caught beating the red light and had to be chased down by the Traffic Police. The incident happened on 13 March 2021 along Tenah Merah Coast Road, which has a dedicated cycling lane that spans 10km.
Other incidents of weaving through traffic and cycling in tunnels have also been caught on camera in the past years.
Growing Concern Over Cycling on the Road
With such dangerous behaviour being continually caught on camera, and with the growing number of road cyclists involved in accidents, the heavier scrutiny on road cyclists and rules for cycling on the road should come as no surprise.
Just last Monday (April 12), Senior Minister of State for Transport Chee Hong Tat announced a review of the rules for cycling on roads that will be conducted by The Active Mobility Advisory Panel.
The panel, which recommends rules and codes of conduct for cyclists and personal mobility device (PMD) users to abide by, will consider certain measures such as introducing registration of bicycles or licenses for cyclists. Other measures might include a compulsory theory test for cyclists, which PMD and electric bicycle users are required to take.
Featured Image: Facebook (Land Transport Authority – We Keep Your World Moving)
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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