Non-compliant Personal Mobility Devices Detected Every Month and Efforts to Ensure Compliance with Device Requirements
Ministry of TransportSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the monthly detection of non-compliant batteries in personal mobility devices (PMDs) and the measures taken to ensure vendor compliance with safety standards. Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim inquired about the frequency of non-compliant battery installations and efforts to prevent approved vendors from selling unauthorized components. Minister for Transport S Iswaran stated that an average of 46 users were caught with non-UL2272 PMDs monthly in 2021 and noted that replacing batteries with different models constitutes illegal modification. He detailed regulatory measures such as mandatory biennial inspections for e-scooters and import controls requiring valid approvals for all motorised PMDs brought into Singapore. Finally, Minister for Transport S Iswaran highlighted joint public education efforts by the Land Transport Authority and Singapore Civil Defence Force to discourage device tampering and ensure original parts usage.
Transcript
10 Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Transport (a) in the past year, how many incidences of installation of non-compliant batteries in personal mobility devices (PMDs) have been reported every month on average; (b) what are the current efforts by the Ministry to ensure that approved vendors of PMD batteries are not simultaneously selling non-compliant batteries in the market.
Mr S Iswaran: Since 1 July 2020, motorised personal mobility devices (PMDs) used in Singapore must comply with UL2272 standards. With continued enforcement and education efforts, more users are aware of this regulation. In 2021, an average of 46 instances of users riding non-UL2272 motorised PMDs were detected each month – which is about half the number of users caught when the regulation was first introduced.
The UL2272 requirement for motorised PMDs applies to the entire device, including its battery and circuitry. This ensures that the motorised PMD, as a whole, is safe for use. Any replacement component, including batteries, should be of the same make and model as the original component. Replacing the battery with a different model would render it non-compliant and would be an offence of illegal modification. Using such non-compliant devices on public paths and roads is also an offence. The maximum penalties for such offences were last increased in 2020 and will be regularly reviewed.
To ensure continued compliance with device requirements, LTA requires all new e-scooters to undergo inspection before they can be registered and mandatory inspections every two years. Since 2021, to stem the inflow of non-compliant motorised PMDs, LTA also requires all imported motorised PMDs to have a valid approval before being brought into Singapore. The number of motorised PMD fires each year has been steadily decreasing since 2019.
Last but not least, LTA and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) conduct regular public education efforts, to educate motorised PMD users that they should not modify their devices and should only use original power adaptors and battery models for that device type.