Singapore – The issue revolving personal mobility devices (PMDs) in Singapore – whether they should be banned, restricted, and the like – is an ongoing one.
An even more difficult challenge is getting PMD riders and pedestrians to co-exist on the road.
On July 20 (Saturday), Mohamed Shamirrudan uploaded a video on Facebook of such a case.
The footage began with a heated conversation between Shamirrudan and an elderly couple who were accusing him of going too fast.
Meanwhile, Shamirrudan asked them why they had to push him, which would explain his GrabFood e-scooter laying on the pavement. The couple denied having touched him.
It is unclear as to who did what although the argument continued.
The older man also accidentally pushed his wife to the ground as he angrily shouted at Shamirrudan.
Somehow, this angered him even more even though the rider had nothing to do with his wife’s fall.
The rider started backing away while saying, “You don’t touch me. You got no right to touch me” to the elderly man.
Fed up, the wife walked away from the scene.
A passer-by in sunglasses entered the scene and tried to pacify them.
After trying to explain their side, the new guy says, “You guys need to slow down.”
Shamirrudan noted that it was a shared path and he had a right to be on it, but the older man was vehement that pedestrians should always be given priority.
By asking the mediator if the ride was an e-bike or e-scooter, the older man wanted to catch the rider for an offence if it was indeed an e-bike.
E-bicycles are not allowed on footpaths and could lead to a fine of S$1,000, three months in jail, or both for new offenders. The penalty doubles for repeat offenders.
As the Grad Food rider suggested that he too would call the police, the elderly man shouted, “You don’t have to call! I will call!”
The old man stood by his judgement that “this stuff (pointing to the e-scooter) should be outside the road.”
The two men tried to inform the elderly man that it was an e-scooter and therefore allowed by the government to be driven on shared paths.
The mediator also commented that the PMD was being used for business.
“I don’t like these things, but these are rules. You follow the rules,” he said.
Eventually, the older man got the police on the line and informed them of their location.
Shamirrudan also contacted someone on his end.
Still enraged, the elderly man started shouting on the line but was presumably told to calm down because he had to explain why he was raising his voice.
An awkward two minutes of silence passed by as they waited for authorities.
The elderly man took the opportunity to take some photos of Shamirrudan during this time.
As a mother and her young son were passing by, the elderly man brazenly approached them to explain what happened.
Eventually, she gave her opinion that PMDs were dangerous if they were speeding.
As if on cue, a fellow GrabFood rider arrived on the scene and hit the brakes a few feet away from the older man who shouted in surprise.
After hitting the play button on his phone to record his next target, the elderly man continued his tirade against PMDs.
“Eh sialah, what I do, I just came?” asked the new rider who apparently knew Shamirrudan.
From then on, the elderly man declared the two riders as “gangsters” as he pointed back and forth at them.
Shamirrudan and the older man continued arguing until the police arrived at around the 12-minute mark on the video, which was when the recording ended as well.
Shamirrudan shared in the comments section that the elderly man had a vendetta against other delivery riders and had been disturbing them for the same reasons.
He added that he decided not to pursue a case against the man because it was not worth his time.
The 12-minute video was enough proof that PMDs are not going anywhere in the near future.
Three other PMDs and even more cyclists passed by as the entire incident played out.
The elderly man even followed his gaze to one other cyclist that passed by, perhaps wondering how they were allowed on the sidewalk. -/TISG
Read related: “Very very alarmed” Lee Bee Wah thinks the Govt should be stricter with PMD riders
Read related: Mixed reaction to the idea of banning PMDs at void decks and footpaths
https://www.facebook.com/shamiraafroo/videos/719229981864714/