Two e-scooters were seized by the authorities over the past week as part of a crackdown on reckless riders here, even as calls have been made by the public to ban the devices in the wake of recent incidents of riders caught on video travelling on roads.
In a Facebook post yesterday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it had carried out several enforcement operations over the past few weeks on e-scooter users who had been riding recklessly and at high speeds on roads as well as footpaths.
This was in response to complaints.
An e-scooter was seized on Tuesday as part of operations carried out at Upper Aljunied Road.
The rider, who had been speeding on the road, is assisting the LTA with investigations.
Another e-scooter was also confiscated on Saturday as part of enforcement operations in Yishun.
Said the LTA: “We take this opportunity to remind all e-scooter riders that it is an offence to use their personal mobility devices on the road and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action against any rider found doing so.”
Those who use unauthorised vehicles such as e-scooters on roads face a fine of up to $2,000 or a jail term of up to three months for the first offence if convicted.
News of the clampdown comes after a number of videos depicting unsafe actions by e-scooter users went viral over the past week.
A video taken last Friday showed a man on an e-scooter, said to have been travelling at about 50kmh along Aljunied Road, riding beside a bus.
Another shows an e-scooter user riding in the middle lane of what is believed to be Serangoon Road, surrounded by traffic.
A third video shows six e-scooter users, said to be moving at about 80 or 90kmh, racing down a deserted stretch of road. It is not known when or where the video was taken.
The videos sparked calls by members of the public for stricter regulations on the devices, with some even saying that they should be banned.
Victor Lee, general manager of e-scooter distributor Falcon PEV, said banning was “too serious a call” given that most users are law-abiding.
He added that as an additional safety measure, e-scooter users could be licensed.
Chairman of e-scooter enthusiast group Big Wheel Scooter Singapore Denis Koh said it was doubtful that e-scooters would be outlawed, given the effort that had been put into coming up with the proposed regulations.
“I don’t think that there will be a reversal of any proposals because of a few black sheep,” added Mr Koh, who sat on the Active Mobility Advisory Panel that proposed regulations for the safe use of personal mobility devices.
There were 27 accidents involving e-bikes last year, five of which were fatal.
Though these raised concerns about the safety of e-bikes, they were not banned.
Instead, since December last year, e-bikes have faced stricter regulations.
These include having a maximum speed of 25kmh and a maximum weight of 20kg.
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