\n<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE: Some personal mobility aid (PMA) users have told CNA that they will continue riding devices that breach tightened rules taking effect on Jun 1, despite the risk of enforcement action.<\/p>\n
Several have not obtained a certificate of medical need to prove their eligibility and have no plans to do so. Others appeared to be using devices larger than the new dimension limits set by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).<\/p>\n
CNA observed both during interviews with PMA users outside Northpoint City in Yishun.<\/p>\n
One couple in their 60s were riding a large PMA that appeared to exceed the allowable length of 1.2m. The woman said they were aware of the upcoming restrictions but felt they were doing “nothing wrong”.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe aren\u2019t going too fast, and we live around here,\u201d she said. \u201cNormally, what we are doing is okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Yishun resident uses the device to get around the neighbourhood and to accompany her husband to hospital appointments. Her husband has early-onset dementia, she said, and she does not trust him to ride alone on a compliant single-user device.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“When he’s alone, I’m also scared,” she said.<\/p>\n
The couple have not obtained a certificate of medical need and have no plans to do so, even though both are below 70, the age at which users are exempted from the requirement.<\/p>\n
Under the new regulations, all PMAs used on public paths must be no more than 1.2m long, 0.7m wide and 1.5m high, with a total weight \u2013 including the user \u2013 not exceeding 300kg.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Users of mobility scooters must also obtain a certificate of medical need from a Singapore-registered doctor or occupational therapist unless they qualify for an exemption, such as being aged 70 or older.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The speed limit for all motorised PMAs on public paths will also be cut from 10kmh to 6kmh.<\/p>\n
CNA also observed several PMAs travelling at what appeared to be well above the new 6kmh limit. The users did not stop when waved down.<\/p>\n
Anyone caught driving a mobility vehicle above 6kmh on public paths faces fines of up to S$2,000 (US$1,560), up to six months’ imprisonment, or both, with stiffer penalties for repeat offenders.<\/p>\n
In February, Minister of State for Transport Baey Yam Keng said in parliament that the rules will take effect on Jun 1, more than two years after recommendations by the Active Mobility Advisory Panel were accepted by the government.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My Baey said that enforcement officers would focus on visibly able-bodied individuals misusing mobility scooters.<\/p>\n
To tackle errant riders, enforcement officers will patrol public paths and conduct checks on user and device compliance, he said. CCTV cameras that are focused on paths have also been deployed islandwide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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SINGAPORE: Some personal mobility aid (PMA) users have told CNA that they will continue riding devices that breach tightened rules taking effect on Jun 1,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dam.mediacorp.sg\/image\/upload\/s--FZ-sIFyC--\/c_crop,h_2677,w_4759,x_90,y_301\/c_fill,g_auto,h_676,w_1200\/fl_relative,g_south_east,l_mediacorp:cna:watermark:2021-08:cna,w_0.1\/f_auto,q_auto\/v1\/mediacorp\/cna\/image\/2021-09\/img_5645.jpg?itok=JjtTC1N5","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9929,23663,780,18462,23662,1567,208,653],"class_list":["post-56141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-news-sg-global","tag-fines","tag-flout","tag-jail","tag-jun","tag-pma","tag-risk","tag-rules","tag-users","wpcat-2-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}