Draft #3 Technical Report_Protecting the pedestrians in Singapore from reckless Personal Mobility Device(PMD) users: Proposal for Land Transport Authority(LTA) to curb reckless riders

1. Introduction

1.1 Background information

This report has been developed in response to the Call for Proposal (CFP) made by Land Transport Authority (LTA) for creating a solution to reduce the number of illegally modified e-scooters and Personal Mobility Devices(PMDs) in Singapore.

PMD was first introduced in Singapore in 2013 as an alternative means of transport to help make public transport a more palatable option for commuters (Nim, 2015). However, PMDs and scooters have since then become devices used by many to serve their own needs such as to roam around Singapore, deliver food or even as a form of transport. According to Cheng (2019), big companies like McDonald’s and Foodpanda have started using PMDs in their daily operations of food deliveries and have been continuing to do so. Simek (2019) states that the use of electric scooters for deliveries has seen a cut on delivery time. The same author also states that Foodpanda has a fleet of e-scooters and the company decided to recruit workers to deliver orders using the scooters. This has seen a rise in the usage of e-scooters and PMDs in Singapore.

Due to the increasing trend of owning a PMD, many people started to modify their motorized devices. Kok (2019) states that modified motorized devices that are non-compliant to the prescribed specifications are illegal. According to Abdullah (2019), the number of offenses relating to the use of PMDs has increased even as a slew of initiatives were taken to minimize their errant use. The same author also mentioned that most of the detected offenses were due to riding unregistered motorized devices on roads. The increase in illegal motorized devices has led to an increase in PMD related accidents. According to Toh and Teh (2019), a 65-year-old cyclist was killed in a collision accident with a non-compliant e-scooter that was not registered under LTA and the scooter’s weight, width and speed limit all exceeded the prescribed specifications allowed for usage in public paths. Another article by Chia (2019) states that an elderly cyclist was killed by a 20-year-old e-scooter rider. She also mentioned that the e-scooter was illegally modified and that it could hit speeds of up to 80km/h which would be as fast as a car on an expressway.

In a recent news report, Chew (2019) states that over the past three years, PMD related accidents surged up from 47 in 2017 to 87 in 2018 and 79 in the first nine months of 2019,  including six fatal accidents. Most of the fatal accidents were caused by illegally modified or non-compliant scooter. The increasing amount of accidents relating to motorized devices has aroused commotion regarding the safety of pedestrians on the streets in Singapore. According to Chia (2019), a tourist in Singapore name Govindasamy mentioned that he was afraid to use the footpath with his child in tow while on holiday here. According to Tan (2019), many people are now walking on the streets in fear and it is a psychological burden wrongfully imposed on pedestrians.

With an increasing trend of accidents occurring due to illegal modified motorized devices, the team researched the technical details of speed, reaction time and the impact imposed in the case of an accident. According to Ng and Lau (2018), even though PMDs might seem light and minimal compared to bikes and cars, it still packs more energy than a professional boxer’s punch if collided with a PMD traveling just at the legal speed limit of 15kmh. This amount of force is enough to send a grown man flying into the air, not to mention elderlies or children. The same authors also mentioned that professor Yap from NTU said that as the body falls after a collision, the head will hit the ground at speeds of 15kmh or more which is equivalent to two tonnes of force and could result in severe head injuries.

The physics of a collision is not the only factor that makes motorized devices dangerous on the pathway. Stopping a motorized device on time might not be as simple as most might think. In the same article, it mentioned that an experiment has seen an e-scooter rider took 1.65m to 3.2m to come to a complete stop when traveling at 15kmh. As the speed increases to 25kmh, the rider needed 7m to come to a complete stop. At a higher speed, more reaction time and longer stopping distance are required. Since traveling speed and reaction time determines the distance and time required for any user to stop their motorized devices at different circumstances, it is certainly dangerous and terrifying for any users to modify their devices such that it travels at speed higher than the legal limit on the pathway. 

Addressing the issue of increasing incidents caused by illegal motorized devices is crucial as it affects pedestrians psychologically and physically. Therefore, actions should be taken by LTA to implement new regulations to help Singapore advance towards the ideal situation of being free from illegal motorized devices as well as safe usage of motorized devices. This will greatly reduce the number of injuries and fatal accidents caused by PMDs so that pedestrians can walk confidently on the streets.

1.2 Problem statement

A well-governed country like Singapore should be free of any illegal motorized devices and any usage of motorized devices would be manipulated safely. However, through research done on news articles, the team found out that some users still modify their motorized vehicles causing accidents that result in deaths and injuries. Land Transport Authority (LTA) should introduce new preventive measures on top of the existing regulations to prevent users from modifying their motorized devices so that the amount of illegal motorized devices will decrease.

1.3 Purpose statement

The aim of this proposal is to convince LTA to implement new preventive measures to resolve the increasing rate of illegal motorized devices in Singapore.

2. Solution

With so many mishaps related to PMD, the team has identified a possible solution through research that can potentially minimize the number of non-compliant PMDs in Singapore.

2.1 Building an unmodifiable PMD 

A possible solution would be to introduce tamper-resistance or tamper-proof screws to PMDs so that users will have a hard time dismantling the device by themselves. According to Churm (2016), both tamper-resistant and tamper-proof screws are classified as security screws. These screws usually have a unique drive on the screw head as compared to normal screws and would require special tools for removing. The same author also mentioned another type of security screws available, known as one-way security screws such as clutch and sentinel drives. These screws are designed such that it allows users to install but not remove them.

2.2 Benefits of an unmodifiable PMD

With the implementation of security screws, PMDs will be harder to dismantle and users will be forced to visit an LTA approved retailer to do any modification. This will prevent users from modifying their motorized devices beyond the allowable specifications. According to Reeder (2010), security screws can easily replace any existing screws. Therefore, it will be without trouble to change existing motorized devices with normal screws to security screws.

2.3 Drawback of an unmodifiable PMD

Tamper-resistant screws while relatively hard to remove without the proper tools, it is not impossible (Reeder, 2010). People who tamper with the screws will leave evidence that LTA would be able to spot

3. Methodology & Procedure

3.1 Primary Research

The team conducted a quick survey around the SIT@Dover campus to gather information.

A survey was conducted to collect information regarding student’s thoughts about PMD and it’s users and how they feel about it. 42 SIT@Dover students responded. (Refer to appendix A)

3.2 Secondary Research

The team did research on online published articles and government websites to gather relevant information used in our report. 

4. Conclusion 

The increase of illegally modified vehicles has been a serious issue as it has lead to multiple deaths and injuries. LTA should take immediate action to reduce the number of illegal modified vehicles on the walkway by implementing the use of tamper-resistant screws on all PMDs.

Apart from the proposed solution, there are other possible ways to reduce the usage of illegally modified devices by punishing the riders through stricter rules and regulations.

With LTA stepping up to reduce the usage of illegally modified devices, Singapore will certainly advance towards a much safer environment where pedestrians will be able to walk on the streets confidently and free of PMD related worries.

5. References

Abdullah, Z. (2019, September 6). Increase in number of PMD offences in August. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/increase-in-number-of-pmd-offences-in-august.

Cheng, K. (2016, May 20). Delivery, logistics firms testing out PMDs with mixed results. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/delivery-logistics-firms-testing-out-pmds-mixed-results.

Chia, R. G. (2019, October 10). ‘I want to walk freely’: 69,000 people have signed an old petition against PMDs, after the Government hinted it might ban them. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.businessinsider.sg/i-want-to-walk-freely-69000-people-have-signed-an-old-petition-against-pmds-after-the-government-hinted-it-might-ban-them/.

Kok, Y. (2019, July 12). Modified e-scooter clocked at 150kmh on Singapore road. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/modified-e-scooter-clocked-at-150kmh-on-singapore-road.

Kok, Y. (2019, October 3). ‘Ban PMDs from footpaths so we can feel safe again’: Accident victims and pedestrians. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/ban-pmds-footpaths-so-we-can-feel-safe-again-accident-victims-and-pedestrians.

Nim, A. (2018, August 26). Scooting with the times. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/lifestyle/cars/scooting-with-the-times.

Reeder, J. (2010, March 3). Tampering with Tamper-Resistant Screws. Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://www.locksmithledger.com/keys-tools/article/10228407/tampering-with-tamperresistant-screws.

Su, S. (2019, July 23). Build highways for personal mobility devices, bicycles. Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://www.todayonline.com/voices/build-highways-personal-mobility-devices-bicycles.

Tan, A. (2019, September 26). PMD in fatal collision ‘non-compliant’: Family of Madam Ong Bee Eng calls for more regulations. Retrieved October 31, 2019, from https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/pmd-fatal-collision-non-compliant-family-madam-ong-bee-eng-calls-more-regulations.

Wei, T. T., & Teh, C. (2019, September 26). PMD in fatal crash exceeded weight, width limit: LTA. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/pmd-in-fatal-crash-exceeded-weight-width-limit-lta.

6. Appendices