It was just three months ago when Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min talked about personal mobility devices (PMDs) in Parliament, spelling out measures to address the risks they posed to public safety.

A PMD, he said then, was "just a machine", and he expressed confidence that Singaporeans could be taught to use these devices responsibly and safely with other footpath users. The signal from the authorities at that point was that PMDs were here to stay.