Mr Francis Lee hit the nail on the head with his letter about personal mobility device riders (Target the attitude of PMD riders, Aug 7).

I fully agree that it's not about capping the speed of PMDs or more rider education.

A deterrent like heavy fines and jail sentences would definitely be more effective.

Despite our relative wealth as a country, I am sad to observe that my fellow Singaporeans have not become commensurately gracious and considerate.

It would appear that many would still respond better to the stick than to advice and entreaties.

I would urge the authorities to carefully consider severe enough penalties for PMD riders, to deter them from recklessly riding their vehicles.

Besides reckless riding, another serious issue is the number of fire incidents linked to PMDs.

Most Singaporeans live in flats. So if just one person in the block starts a fire, the rest of us will be affected.

I am curious to know what recourse affected residents have, especially if the offender claims he is not insured and does not have the money to compensate his neighbours for damage to their property and injury to their person.

The authorities keep mentioning that PMDs are a very important part of the economy as they enable Singaporeans to leave their cars at home and rely on public transport, since PMDs will ease their last mile to and from home, as well as help other Singaporeans to deliver food.

From anecdotal evidence, entrenched car owners do not ride PMDs.

If they are unable to drive for whatever reason, they will take public transport or hitch a ride.

As for enabling Singaporeans to do the job of delivering food, it is puzzling why the authorities feel obliged to do so unless it is a national objective to encourage and help food delivery businesses, or to help Singaporeans get food delivered to them easily.

I look forward to seeing and hearing what the authorities will do about the issues and problems caused by PMDs.

Pauline Margaret Chung Pui Lan