Singapore (VNA) – The deadline for personal mobility devices (PMD) inSingapore to comply with the UL2272 safety certification has been broughtforward by six months to July 1, 2020.

In its latest announcement, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said thedecision was made following recent spate of PMD-related fires.

A total 54 PMD-related fires were reported in the first half of this year, ascompared to 52 for the whole year 2018. In 2017 and 2018, there were 228reported accidents involving PMDs on public paths.

The Singaporean authority has said the majority of PMD-related fires involvedlithium-ion batteries, and occurred while the batteries were being charged orshortly after they had been fully charged.

In a bid to improve safety against fire and electrical hazards, the LTA adoptedthe UL2272 standard evaluating PMD at the system level, which means it coversthe full spectrum of use conditions, instead of assessing only individualparts, thus significantly lowering the risk of fires.

All 15 town councils run by the People’s Action Party (PAP) have decided to banPMDs at void decks and common areas from September 1 in a move to increasesafety of public paths.

The LTA will also be working with relevant town councils to implement athree-month trial of pedestrian-only zones (POZs) within the town centres inAng Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok and Khatib, and at a neighbourhood centre inTampines. If the trial proves to be successful, the POZs will be implemented atother town centres nationwide.

To identify reckless riders, the town councils will use the 70,000 policecameras and surveillance cameras installed at void decks and lifts. Under theamended by-laws, the town councils can fine these PMD riders, or take them tocourt.

All e-scooters, both new and currently registered, will have to go through amandatory inspection from April next year. The inspections will check forUL2272 certification, width, weight and device speed limits. For newe-scooters, inspections will have to be carried out before they can beregistered.

There are currently 90,000 registered e-scooters, of which only 10 percent arebelieved to be UL2272-certified.

The Singaporean Government has set aside 50 million SGD (36 million USD) towiden footpaths, put up warning signs and install speed-regulating strips atPMD accident hotspots.

Besides the cycling paths in the country will be expanded to 750 kilometres by2025, and the length will be three times higher by 2030.-VNA