Teatime: PMDs, PABs should be banned – just like chewing gum
This is part of a weekly column in which we talk about anything under the sun
There is at least one fire related to a personal mobility device (PMD) or power-assisted bicycle (PAB) reported almost every week.
The fires have destroyed public and private properties, and injured individuals.
With each incident, the same broken record is played to advise the public on precautionary measures.
Yet PMDs and PABs still catch fire as users continue to buy batteries indiscriminately or overcharge their devices. Users also flout traffic rules and even display hostile behaviour.
So why are PMDs and PABs still allowed in Singapore?
In 1991, chewing gum was banned because gum litter had disrupted the smooth running of the MRT trains. It cost the Republic money to clean up the gum litter.
Does it not cost money to repair lifts and repaint walls after a fire caused by PMDs and PABs?
What are we waiting for?
I increased my fire insurance coverage for my previous HDB flat and bought a fire extinguisher after seeing a neighbour buy a PAB for each family member. The thought of a few PABs charging in a two-room flat made me shudder.
Eventually, the worry for my pets at home each time I went out got too much for me and we moved out.
My current same-floor neighbours do not own PMDs or PABs, and other neighbours who do park them at the void deck.
One night, we heard loud explosions and detected a whiff of burnt electrical elements.
I grabbed the fire extinguisher and mentally ran through our own evacuation procedure while my husband went to look for the source of the explosions.
He returned to report that a PAB was on fire at the void deck and the Singapore Civil Defence Force was handling it.
PMDs and PABs are ticking bombs – figuratively and literally. They are a menace and endanger everyone around them.
The argument that individuals who make deliveries rely on PMDs and PABs does not hold water. There are other means of getting from one point to another, from walking to skating/blading to cycling.
Ban PMDs and PABs. We all deserve our peace of mind.
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