Road cyclists ‘awaiting tragedy’ by taking up too much space on single-lane roads

Singapore ― The ongoing issue of cyclists blocking an entire lane from other road users was once again highlighted on social media.

“This is what’s really happening on the ground,” wrote Facebook page ROADS.sg on Sunday (Oct 10).

The page shared a video of road cyclists spotted along Lim Chu Kang Road headed towards Jalan Basar on Oct 10.

The Activity Mobility Advisory Panel recently proposed regulations on the use of bicycles and personal mobility devices (PMD) in public spaces, the page noted.

The panel recommended for road cyclists to have a limit of up to five cyclists in a single file per group, following a 30-metre safe distance between groups.

In its report submitted to Transport Minister S Iswaran on Oct 1, the panel also proposed a new guideline in the Highway Code for a minimum distance of 1.5 metres for motorists passing cyclists on the road, noted ROADS.sg.

In the video, a tipper truck was spotted having difficulty passing through the area due to the large number of cyclists.

The truck had to wait behind the cyclists when the two-lane road merged into a single lane.

At one point, the vehicle recording the scene had to honk at the cyclists who failed to stay in their lane despite having enough space on the left side of the road.

“This is actually what is happening on our roads. With due respect to our cycling community, if you cannot abide by the rules, then you cannot fault comments by other road users. Sometimes, it’s more of a safety concern rather than a debate on who owns the road or have the right of way,” commented Facebook user Tan Kok Kee.

“Personally, I feel casual, or groups of cyclists should be banned from single lane roads. Cos similar to this one, usually it is big trucks and construction vehicles that ply the roads,” noted Facebook user Jon Tan.

“Putting David and Goliath together on such roads is just tragedy awaiting. Imagine a tired truck driver ploughing into a train of cyclists if he cannot brake in time.”

Another netizen highlighted that the issue has been going on for quite some time.

“It’s been ongoing for years every weekend along Lim Chu Kang and Kranji Way. Police cannot claim they did not know about such problems. They simply ignored and the panel of PMDs are just crooks playing games with public safety,” said Steven Tor P H. /TISG

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