SINGAPORE: Nur Hidayah Ahssan was walking home recently after dropping off her children at school when a loud thump made her jump onto the grass. A personal mobility aid (PMA) behind her had raced over a metal drain cover.
Soon afterwards, the 28-year-old found herself stopping at a bus stop with her children at the approach of another fast-moving PMA near her son’s school.
Her husband, Muhammad Shareefuddin Malimshah, 28, worries for his family’s safety. “I can’t control the speed of such PMAs or whether my wife is going to be involved in such accidents.”
On any given day in her Chua Chu Kang neighbourhood, Hidayah encounters “at least” five PMAs, many of them travelling at speed.
Her fellow residents will likely find that unsurprising. The bulk of Talking Point viewers who reported speeding PMAs or near misses with them hailed from Chua Chu Kang, Sembawang and Yishun.
Nur Hidayah Ahssan recounts her near accident to Talking Point host Steven Chia.
In May last year, an inebriated PMA user crashed into a couple on another mobility scooter in Yishun, causing them injuries including a left ankle fracture. The rider, 57, was later sentenced to two weeks in jail.
This July, a 46-year-old woman was surrounded and allegedly attacked by PMA users outside her Sembawang condominium after she asked one of them to slow down.
Across the island, incidents of speeding PMAs have led to a rise in off-road accidents, from 11 in 2002 to 16 last year, plus nine cases in just the first half of this year.
Amid growing public concern over speeding users, it was announced in March that the speed limit for PMAs would be reduced to 6 km/h, down from the current 10 km/h, starting next year.
The decision followed a review by the Active Mobility Advisory Panel (AMAP). The government also accepted recommendations on medical certification for the use of mobility scooters — following feedback on misuse by able-bodied individuals — and on dimension restrictions.
Some users Talking Point spoke to argued that these regulations would put the brakes on their way of life. At the same time, the programme discovered just how dangerous the misuse of such devices and speeding on them can be.
WATCH: Personal mobility aids — Why are they speeding out of control? (35:58)
In the case of Grab delivery rider Peter Tan, 60, a bad knee is the reason he has relied on a PMA since 2019.
“If I walk a distance, I’ll feel my (knee becoming) a bit weak. Sometimes I might fall,” he said. “If I walk too long … I’ll feel breathless. And then if I walk too fast … (I) will feel (chest) pain.”
Cycling long distances is also difficult. But with his PMA, he can complete an average of 20 deliveries a day, on a 12-hour shift. He typically earns about S$4,500 to S$5,000 a month, he said.
The new restrictions, he feared, could cut his income by at least 50 per cent.
Sometimes, said Grab delivery rider Peter Tan, he earns as much as S$6,000 a month.
Though he occasionally goes “slightly faster” than allowed, for example in the Park Connector Network, he said he does so only when there are “no pedestrians” around.
Like him, PMA user Melissa Aman insists that she slows down for pedestrians. “I’ll keep a lookout,” said the 41-year-old, who added that she rides along at half throttle only.
She has used her PMA for two years, primarily to ferry her two children, aged eight and 12, to and from school. While she does not have a physical disability, the PMA is a practical option for her.
“In the morning, at the bus stop, it’s … very crowded, especially around my area,” she said. Taking the bus would also mean her children would have to wake up 45 minutes earlier, at 5.15am, she added.
Melissa Aman’s daughter prefers her mother’s “car” to the bus.
While mobility scooters cannot carry additional passengers under existing rules, switching to an e-bike is out of the question for her. “It’s not safe for (the children),” she said, noting the absence of a backrest compared to a PMA.
An e-bike is not an option for Tan either, owing to his fear of road traffic following a past accident.
He was also hesitant to get a doctor’s letter in accordance with the coming regulations. He cited a friend — who has a metal plate in her knee after an accident — who could not get certification. But he has since done so.
That leaves Melissa, as an able-bodied individual, feeling that the rules penalise PMA users like herself.
“Some youngsters … aren’t doing (food delivery), but they're (riding their PMAs) on the road. And they’re doing (it) at the fastest (speed),” she bemoaned. “Because of that, we’re all affected.”
Personal mobility devices (PMDs)
• Includes motorised and non-motorised devices, such as kick scooters, skateboards, electric scooters, electric unicyles, hoverboards and motorised luggage.
• Currently, only non-motorised PMDs are allowed on footpaths, whilst all PMDs are not allowed on the road.
• From next July, all PMDs will continue to be allowed on cycle paths and shared paths, but not on pedestrian-only paths (adjacent to cycle paths) and the road.
Personal Mobility Aids (PMAs)
• Includes motorised devices for people with mobility impairments or challenges (unable to walk or have difficulty walking), such as motorised wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
• Allowed on footpaths and cycle paths; not allowed on the road.
Power-assisted bicycles/e-bikes
• Equipped with an electric motor to assist with pedalling.
• Allowed on cycle paths and the road; not allowed on footpaths.
Collapse Expand
As far as speed is concerned, the new regulations are being brought in to not only prevent collisions, but also minimise the severity of injuries caused by accidents.
Reducing the speed limit to 6 km/h will “give the rider more time to come to a stop”, said AMAP member Yap Fook Fah. And it will “definitely help” to soften the impact for victims if a crash does occur.
A few crash tests demonstrated this. At 15 km/h, a PMA controlled by a stunt driver needed a stopping distance of 2.3m. At 23 km/h, the stopping distance was 3.1m, and the PMA sent cardboard boxes flying up to 5m away.
It is not only pedestrians who are at risk, but also riders themselves. Shareefuddin, a paramedic, shared that he has seen PMA accidents leading to fractures and dislocations among both parties.
A crash test mannequin was the pedestrian in Talking Point’s speed experiment.
Another factor that makes PMAs potentially hazardous is that Singapore’s footpaths were designed for pedestrians, not mobility devices. “These narrow footpaths can’t accommodate too many of these bigger and faster devices,” said Yap.
This problem is made worse by easy access to PMA parts that can transform compliant devices into dangerous ones. Talking Point found almost 200 Carousell listings for modified PMAs and non-standard parts, such as oversized batteries for more power.
Bobby Lai, the brand manager of mobility device retailer Mobot, said users could easily swap motors and controllers to boost speed, and replace standard batteries with more powerful ones to increase mileage.
“All you have to do is unplug (the old part) and plug (in the new part),” he said.
Mobot brand manager Bobby Lai said the retailer allows customers to trade in illegal PMAs for legal ones, and ensures the non-compliant models are scrapped.
PMA batteries typically max out at 48 volts, but modified versions can reach 60V or even 72V, which is excessive. With installation services available online for as little as S$150, it is even easier for users to exceed speed limits.
Talking Point also found that modified PMAs are often cheaper than compliant ones. While approved models can cost between S$1,500 and S$2,000 at retailers, modified PMAs are available online for around S$700 to S$1,500.
The question now is, will adherence to the new rules be any better come next year? And will anything else help?
The Land Transport Authority’s Active Mobility Enforcement Officers are already on the ground, ensuring compliance and taking action against illegal devices.
But some riders remain reckless. “They’ll speed … away from us, causing danger to other path users. Some may even charge towards us,” cited officer Muhammad Sirat Abdul Guffoor. “We have to be highly alert and have great situational awareness.”
Active mobility enforcement officers Sunarti Abdul Rahman (left) and Muhammad Sirat Abdul Guffoor at work.
Fellow officer, Sunarti Abdul Rahman, added: “They have their own set of comms … (to) alert (other riders).”
Both officers have come across able-bodied PMA users including those ferrying their family members around.
Going forward, users will need a doctor’s referral to the Agency for Integrated Care, followed by an assessment by an occupational therapist.
“If (the rider) is deemed not suitable for (a PMA),” said St Luke’s Hospital principal occupational therapist Nor Azilah Pami, “we’ll suggest maybe a physiotherapy session to improve (the person’s) mobility.”
Occupational therapists like Nor Azilah Pami carry out physical and device usage assessments to determine a person’s eligibility for a PMA.
Melissa, however, thinks that instead of banning able-bodied users, a riding test could be introduced for them.
It might yet be feasible to allow able-bodied individuals to use PMAs, suggested Yap, who is also an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
A regulatory framework for that would be needed. For example, those riders should use cycle paths, he said. “But we need to build up our cycle paths to have much better connectivity.
“Then they wouldn’t encroach on the footpaths, (which) should just be for pedestrians or people on PMAs who have some disability.”
He also felt that regular inspections, as e-scooters are subject to, could be helpful. “Every two years, you need to bring (your device) in,” he cited. “So if you modify a device, then you’ll be found out.”
Watch this Talking Point special here. The programme airs on Channel 5 every Thursday at 9.30pm.
Continue reading...
Soon afterwards, the 28-year-old found herself stopping at a bus stop with her children at the approach of another fast-moving PMA near her son’s school.
Her husband, Muhammad Shareefuddin Malimshah, 28, worries for his family’s safety. “I can’t control the speed of such PMAs or whether my wife is going to be involved in such accidents.”
On any given day in her Chua Chu Kang neighbourhood, Hidayah encounters “at least” five PMAs, many of them travelling at speed.
Her fellow residents will likely find that unsurprising. The bulk of Talking Point viewers who reported speeding PMAs or near misses with them hailed from Chua Chu Kang, Sembawang and Yishun.
Nur Hidayah Ahssan recounts her near accident to Talking Point host Steven Chia.
In May last year, an inebriated PMA user crashed into a couple on another mobility scooter in Yishun, causing them injuries including a left ankle fracture. The rider, 57, was later sentenced to two weeks in jail.
This July, a 46-year-old woman was surrounded and allegedly attacked by PMA users outside her Sembawang condominium after she asked one of them to slow down.
Across the island, incidents of speeding PMAs have led to a rise in off-road accidents, from 11 in 2002 to 16 last year, plus nine cases in just the first half of this year.
Amid growing public concern over speeding users, it was announced in March that the speed limit for PMAs would be reduced to 6 km/h, down from the current 10 km/h, starting next year.
The decision followed a review by the Active Mobility Advisory Panel (AMAP). The government also accepted recommendations on medical certification for the use of mobility scooters — following feedback on misuse by able-bodied individuals — and on dimension restrictions.
Some users Talking Point spoke to argued that these regulations would put the brakes on their way of life. At the same time, the programme discovered just how dangerous the misuse of such devices and speeding on them can be.
WATCH: Personal mobility aids — Why are they speeding out of control? (35:58)
SOURCE OF LIVELIHOOD, MODE OF TRANSPORT
In the case of Grab delivery rider Peter Tan, 60, a bad knee is the reason he has relied on a PMA since 2019.
“If I walk a distance, I’ll feel my (knee becoming) a bit weak. Sometimes I might fall,” he said. “If I walk too long … I’ll feel breathless. And then if I walk too fast … (I) will feel (chest) pain.”
Cycling long distances is also difficult. But with his PMA, he can complete an average of 20 deliveries a day, on a 12-hour shift. He typically earns about S$4,500 to S$5,000 a month, he said.
The new restrictions, he feared, could cut his income by at least 50 per cent.
Sometimes, said Grab delivery rider Peter Tan, he earns as much as S$6,000 a month.
Though he occasionally goes “slightly faster” than allowed, for example in the Park Connector Network, he said he does so only when there are “no pedestrians” around.
Like him, PMA user Melissa Aman insists that she slows down for pedestrians. “I’ll keep a lookout,” said the 41-year-old, who added that she rides along at half throttle only.
She has used her PMA for two years, primarily to ferry her two children, aged eight and 12, to and from school. While she does not have a physical disability, the PMA is a practical option for her.
“In the morning, at the bus stop, it’s … very crowded, especially around my area,” she said. Taking the bus would also mean her children would have to wake up 45 minutes earlier, at 5.15am, she added.
Melissa Aman’s daughter prefers her mother’s “car” to the bus.
While mobility scooters cannot carry additional passengers under existing rules, switching to an e-bike is out of the question for her. “It’s not safe for (the children),” she said, noting the absence of a backrest compared to a PMA.
An e-bike is not an option for Tan either, owing to his fear of road traffic following a past accident.
He was also hesitant to get a doctor’s letter in accordance with the coming regulations. He cited a friend — who has a metal plate in her knee after an accident — who could not get certification. But he has since done so.
That leaves Melissa, as an able-bodied individual, feeling that the rules penalise PMA users like herself.
“Some youngsters … aren’t doing (food delivery), but they're (riding their PMAs) on the road. And they’re doing (it) at the fastest (speed),” she bemoaned. “Because of that, we’re all affected.”
PMAs, PMDs and e-bikes — what’s the difference?
Personal mobility devices (PMDs)
• Includes motorised and non-motorised devices, such as kick scooters, skateboards, electric scooters, electric unicyles, hoverboards and motorised luggage.
• Currently, only non-motorised PMDs are allowed on footpaths, whilst all PMDs are not allowed on the road.
• From next July, all PMDs will continue to be allowed on cycle paths and shared paths, but not on pedestrian-only paths (adjacent to cycle paths) and the road.
Personal Mobility Aids (PMAs)
• Includes motorised devices for people with mobility impairments or challenges (unable to walk or have difficulty walking), such as motorised wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
• Allowed on footpaths and cycle paths; not allowed on the road.
Power-assisted bicycles/e-bikes
• Equipped with an electric motor to assist with pedalling.
• Allowed on cycle paths and the road; not allowed on footpaths.
Collapse Expand
HOW DANGEROUS ARE THEY?
As far as speed is concerned, the new regulations are being brought in to not only prevent collisions, but also minimise the severity of injuries caused by accidents.
Reducing the speed limit to 6 km/h will “give the rider more time to come to a stop”, said AMAP member Yap Fook Fah. And it will “definitely help” to soften the impact for victims if a crash does occur.
A few crash tests demonstrated this. At 15 km/h, a PMA controlled by a stunt driver needed a stopping distance of 2.3m. At 23 km/h, the stopping distance was 3.1m, and the PMA sent cardboard boxes flying up to 5m away.
It is not only pedestrians who are at risk, but also riders themselves. Shareefuddin, a paramedic, shared that he has seen PMA accidents leading to fractures and dislocations among both parties.
A crash test mannequin was the pedestrian in Talking Point’s speed experiment.
Another factor that makes PMAs potentially hazardous is that Singapore’s footpaths were designed for pedestrians, not mobility devices. “These narrow footpaths can’t accommodate too many of these bigger and faster devices,” said Yap.
This problem is made worse by easy access to PMA parts that can transform compliant devices into dangerous ones. Talking Point found almost 200 Carousell listings for modified PMAs and non-standard parts, such as oversized batteries for more power.
Bobby Lai, the brand manager of mobility device retailer Mobot, said users could easily swap motors and controllers to boost speed, and replace standard batteries with more powerful ones to increase mileage.
“All you have to do is unplug (the old part) and plug (in the new part),” he said.
Mobot brand manager Bobby Lai said the retailer allows customers to trade in illegal PMAs for legal ones, and ensures the non-compliant models are scrapped.
PMA batteries typically max out at 48 volts, but modified versions can reach 60V or even 72V, which is excessive. With installation services available online for as little as S$150, it is even easier for users to exceed speed limits.
Talking Point also found that modified PMAs are often cheaper than compliant ones. While approved models can cost between S$1,500 and S$2,000 at retailers, modified PMAs are available online for around S$700 to S$1,500.
FULL THROTTLE AHEAD?
The question now is, will adherence to the new rules be any better come next year? And will anything else help?
The Land Transport Authority’s Active Mobility Enforcement Officers are already on the ground, ensuring compliance and taking action against illegal devices.
But some riders remain reckless. “They’ll speed … away from us, causing danger to other path users. Some may even charge towards us,” cited officer Muhammad Sirat Abdul Guffoor. “We have to be highly alert and have great situational awareness.”
Active mobility enforcement officers Sunarti Abdul Rahman (left) and Muhammad Sirat Abdul Guffoor at work.
Fellow officer, Sunarti Abdul Rahman, added: “They have their own set of comms … (to) alert (other riders).”
Both officers have come across able-bodied PMA users including those ferrying their family members around.
Going forward, users will need a doctor’s referral to the Agency for Integrated Care, followed by an assessment by an occupational therapist.
“If (the rider) is deemed not suitable for (a PMA),” said St Luke’s Hospital principal occupational therapist Nor Azilah Pami, “we’ll suggest maybe a physiotherapy session to improve (the person’s) mobility.”
Occupational therapists like Nor Azilah Pami carry out physical and device usage assessments to determine a person’s eligibility for a PMA.
Melissa, however, thinks that instead of banning able-bodied users, a riding test could be introduced for them.
It might yet be feasible to allow able-bodied individuals to use PMAs, suggested Yap, who is also an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
A regulatory framework for that would be needed. For example, those riders should use cycle paths, he said. “But we need to build up our cycle paths to have much better connectivity.
“Then they wouldn’t encroach on the footpaths, (which) should just be for pedestrians or people on PMAs who have some disability.”
He also felt that regular inspections, as e-scooters are subject to, could be helpful. “Every two years, you need to bring (your device) in,” he cited. “So if you modify a device, then you’ll be found out.”
Watch this Talking Point special here. The programme airs on Channel 5 every Thursday at 9.30pm.
Related content:
Continue reading...