January 21, 2021, 11:50 AM
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A woman in a breezy sundress was seen riding her city bike through Toa Payoh one afternoon, pedalling at a leisurely pace.
In ordinary circumstances, none of this would be news.
However, this particular woman was riding on the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) in the midst of heavy traffic, as a short Facebook video clip showed:
The cyclist kept to the left side of the road, and did not appear to have obstructed traffic in the 45-second video clip, even overtaking many vehicles caught in slow-moving traffic.
However, riding on expressways is illegal and cyclists who are caught may be liable to be fined up to S$2,000 or imprisoned for up to six months.
Additionally, she rode without a helmet, in contravention of the mandatory helmet law in effect since Feb. 1, 2019.
Commenters concluded — perhaps from her hair colour — that she was a foreigner, and speculated that she could have been unaware of the law in Singapore.
Some also suggested that she may have been rushing to attend to an emergency.
One commenter offered a plausible explanation as to how the cyclist may have ended up on the expressway:
Incidents of cyclists on expressways
A number of cyclists have been filmed riding brazenly on expressways.
In November, 2020 the authorities issued a reminder to cyclists that they are not permitted to ride their bicycles, including Power Assisted Bicycles, on expressways.
According to the Road Traffic Act, cyclists are not allowed on the following expressways:
- Ayer Rajah Expressway
- Bukit Timah Expressway
- Central Expressway
- East Coast Parkway
- Kallang Paya Lebar Expressway
- Kranji Expressway
- Marina Coastal Expressway
- Pan Island Expressway
- Seletar Expressway
- Tampines Expressway
Cyclists are also not allowed to ride in tunnels, including the Fort Canning Tunnel, Woodsville Tunnel and Sentosa Gateway Tunnel.
The authorities also said they would take action against road users who choose to flout traffic rules.
Top images via video by Zaid Khan on Facebook
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