LTA detects 111 active mobility offences on Christmas Eve
The holiday season does not mean enforcement action is scaled back.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) detected 111 active mobility offences, such as riding motorised devices on footpaths, in a joint operation involving multiple agencies and about 200 officers on Christmas Eve.
The islandwide operation, which also involved the police, National Parks Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority, lasted from 5.30am on Friday (Dec 24) to 5.30am on Saturday.
In comparison, about 4,900 offences involving active mobility devices were detected in 2019, before personal mobility devices - such as hoverboards and electric skateboards - were banned on footpaths in April last year.
Electric scooters were barred from footpaths in November 2019.
LTA also detected 215 vehicle-related offences on Wednesday and Friday, which included exhaust modification, window tinting and non-compliant licence plates.
A total of 10 devices and six vehicles were impounded, LTA said on Sunday. It reminded the public to observe regulations and guidelines.
"Do not let irresponsible behaviour mar the festive experience for yourself and others," it added.
This comes as a new regulation kicks in on Jan 1 next year, which caps the size of cycling groups at five cyclists in a single file or 10 when riding two abreast.
From Jan 1, fines for cyclists caught flouting traffic rules will also be doubled to $150.
The composition fine will also apply to those who break existing rules, including not stopping at red lights, riding abreast of another cyclist on a single-lane road, and cycling on expressways.
For more serious cases, a cyclist may be fined up to $1,000 and jailed for up to three months for the first offence.
Repeat offenders can be fined up to $2,000 and/or jailed for up to six months.
According to the Traffic Police, there were 597 cycling offences detected on roads last year, compared with 1,302 in 2019.
In October, Senior Minister of State for Transport Chee Hong Tat said LTA had taken enforcement action against more than 500 cyclists since the start of this year.
The Ministry of Transport also said it would step up enforcement action against errant motorists and on-road cyclists.
Such operations by the Traffic Police and LTA are carried out at roads that are more heavily used by cyclists. Officers are also deployed to roads flagged by the authorities' surveillance efforts and the public.
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