September 21, 2021, 06:46 PM
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A man was seen cycling a three-wheeled recumbent trike along River Valley Road.
A photo of the rider was posted on the Facebook page Roads.sg. The caption stated that the rider was spotted at about 8:30 am on Sep. 11.
He was riding along the busy road before stopping in front of a public bus when the traffic lights turned red.In spite of the rider's untroubled appearance, the image sparked a rather heated conversation on whether these trikes are allowed on the roads, and questions about the safety of their riders.
Are recumbent devices allowed on the road?
A Facebook user commented on the post that recumbents are bicycles which led to another user clapping back saying, "please check how many wheels does a recumbent bike has."
The first user is in fact right as there are two types of recumbents – a recumbent bike (two-wheeled) and a recumbent trike (three-wheeled).
Recumbents are devices that place the rider in a laid-back reclining position, unlike the traditional bicycle where riders sit upright.
Ong Ye Kung, previously the Minister for Transport, said in May this year that three-wheeled recumbent devices are classified as non-motorised personal mobility devices, while two-wheeled recumbent devices are classified as bicycles.
Hence, three-wheeled recumbent devices, like the one seen in the Roads.sg post, are not allowed on the road and are currently only allowed on footpaths, cycling paths, and park connectors only if they meet safety requirements.
Only bicycles and power-assisted bicycles are allowed on roads.
According to Ong, the Land Transport Authority is currently reviewing the requests from owners of three-wheeled recumbent devices to use them on roads, with the safety of riders and other road users as its "overriding consideration".
Netizens' response
Many questioned the safety of the rider in the image, saying that the trike is too low to be seen by other vehicles on the road.
Screenshot of Dew Dew's comment.
Screenshot of Ben OTW's comment.
One Facebook user Iris Loh called out the rider, saying that riders like him are a "road hazard and nuisance on the road".
Screenshot of Iris Loh's comment.
Others urged riders to see the risks in riding these devices on the roads.
Screenshot of Shairul Othman's comment.
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Top image via Roads.sg/Facebook.
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