Forum: Time to do more to rein in reckless cyclists
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After finishing lunch at East Coast Lagoon Food Village on Sunday, Ms Jodi Lai and her family made their way home, walking first towards the Singapore Wake Park. But what was a leisurely stroll on a path used by both cyclists and pedestrians ended terribly when a fast-moving bicycle crashed on them
photo: Jodi Lai/Facebook
I refer to the article “Mum and toddler hurt after cyclist crashes into them at East Coast Park” (June 29). I have written about reckless cyclists and the near-collisions I witnessed there (Accident waiting to happen at East Coast Park, Feb 24, 2021).
The recent accident at East Coast Park is probably only the tip of the iceberg, with countless other incidents going unreported.
The family’s description of what happened is consistent with what I have observed of similar incidents, where some cyclists insist on treating shared paths as their own little race track.
The recent accident has highlighted two issues.
First, there is a lack of accountability on the part of the cyclist. Due to difficulties in licensing and registering bicycles, cyclists are able to get away with bad behaviour and dangerous actions without facing any consequences.
This incident is akin to a hit-and-run accident. In this case, the cyclist hurt two people and gave the family two phone numbers, but is uncontactable.
I would suggest to anyone involved in such incidents to establish the cyclist’s identity against his identity documents, or to at least take photos of the cyclist and bicycle to aid police investigations. This is what motorists would do in a traffic accident.
The second issue is safety. I would suggest that bicycle speed-limit signs be displayed prominently in areas where cyclists share the path with pedestrians. Cycling is allowed on footpaths up to a maximum speed of 10kmh. Although it is hard to gauge a cyclist’s speed, such signs would at least serve as a reference point for pedestrians to confront cyclists who appear to be riding too fast.
I have also often seen cyclists on the road going way too fast for their own good, darting recklessly in between vehicles. Bicycles are smaller, vulnerable and often not so easily visible to motorists, so cyclists’ speed limits should be lowered to safeguard themselves and motorists.
The current measures in place regulating cyclists seem grossly inadequate. It is high time the authorities took more definitive measures.
Kevin Sng
