SINGAPORE: A video of two cyclists riding slowly in front of a bus, chatting as though they owned the road, appeared to cause many Singaporean’s blood to boil in rage—judging from the number of people who grew upset.
The short clip, shared on the Complaint Singapore Facebook page on Oct 18 by 喵, was simply captioned “Grandfather road.” The bus followed the two cyclists who weren’t where they were supposed to be—on the bus lane.
The video elicited many strong responses from commenters, some of whom seemed to put themselves in the shoes of the bus driver and passenger.
While cycling is encouraged in Singapore for health and environmental reasons, cyclists must follow very firm rules and guidelines—for their and everyone else’s safety.
They are encouraged to use cycling paths instead of roads whenever possible and are disallowed from cycling more than two side-by-side unless under certain conditions.
They must also ride as close as possible to the left-hand edge of roads, which the cyclists in the video were not doing.
An LTA road safety guide for motorists and cyclists issued at the beginning of this year even says cyclists should not ride abreast during bus lane operating hours, from 7:30 am to 11:00 pm on Mondays through Saturdays.
Many Singaporeans have complained about how cyclists, especially in big groups, have behaved on the road.
One popular comment on the post with the bus behind the cyclists even called for bicycles to be banned in Singapore.
“We want safety (to) come first,” wrote the commenter.
Another wrote the cyclists should be “arrested immediately for obstructing traffic and nuisance!”
Others appeared to hold the Land Transportation Authority (LTA) responsible for not developing better rules regarding cycling on the city-state’s roads.
Another wrote that he could imagine the frustration the bus driver and passengers felt.
One group member wondered if the cyclists were foreigners trying to get some “healthy exercise.”
Another commenter appealed to the LTA to investigate this incident seriously and tagged the authority to get its attention.
“The bus lane is meant for busses at peak hours (not for motorists, cars, cyclists, etc). Here are two cyclists occupying the lane and causing obstruction.
Please take this matter seriously as the cyclists are obstructing the lane and causing danger on the lane,” he wrote.
“It’s ok to ride a bicycle on the road for leisure or work. However, the LTA should make certain rules for cyclists. Like in this case (of) road hogging,” chimed in another. /TISG