Singapore is to ban cyclists from riding in groups of more than five bicycles in length, whether in single or double file.
The new law will effectively cap the number of riders in a group at a maximum of 10 when they are riding two abreast, which is currently permitted on roads with two or more lanes.
On single lane roads and in bus lanes during their hours of operation, cyclists will have to continue to ride in single file, but in a group of no more than five.
Coming into effect from 1 January 2022, it is one of a number of recommendations designed “to enhance road safety” submitted in a report earlier this month to the country’s Ministry of Transport.
The report was written by the Active Mobility Advisory Panel (AMAP), which was set up in 2015, and followed a six-month review, which the ministry said “is timely given the growing popularity of cycling in recent years, with more people taking up cycling as a convenient and environmentally-friendly way to commute, while keeping fit at the same time.
“This has led to increased interactions between cyclists and other road users, and concerns about road safety when cyclists ride on roads,” the ministry continued.
It said that the report “takes into consideration the perspective of all road users. AMAP has taken a balanced and fair-minded approach, with the aim of strengthening road safety for all.
“AMAP has also studied practices in other countries and incorporated relevant learning points in its recommendations.”
Turning to the issue of the maximum group sizes, the Ministry of Justice said: “Given space constraints on Singapore’s urban road network, we will also adopt the AMAP’s recommendation to limit cycling groups to a maximum length of five bicycles, which is approximately the length of a bus.”
It also said that two recommendations from AMAP of best practice, while “not requirements for strict compliance in all situations … are useful guidelines and should be followed where practicable to enhance road safety.”
Those are that separate groups of cyclists should “keep a safe distance of approximately two lamp posts (or around 30m)” between them, and that motorists should leave “a minimum distance of 1.5m when passing cyclists on roads.”
The ministry said that it agreed that “all cyclists should be strongly encouraged to purchase third-party liability insurance to protect themselves from potential financial liabilities,” and that it was also in agreement with AMAP “that licensing of cyclists or registration of bicycles should not be introduced at this juncture.
“Besides affecting the majority of law-abiding cyclists, there is little evidence from overseas case studies and Singapore’s past experience that licensing of cyclists is effective in promoting road safety or deterring errant cyclists,” the ministry pointed out.
Meanwhile, fines for cyclists caught committing a number of specified offences, including exceeding the maximum group sizes, will increase from Singapore $75 (around £40) to $150 (£80). Those are:
1 Not complying with any traffic sign (e.g. failure to stop at red light)
2 Riding abreast of another cyclist on single lane roads, and on bus lanes during bus lane operational hours
3 Not riding as near as practicable to the far-left edge of the road
4 Not riding in an orderly manner and with due regard for the safety of others
5 Riding against the flow of traffic
6 Riding on expressways, as well as in road and expressway tunnels
7 [New] Riding with more than five cyclists in a single file, or ten cyclists when riding two abreast (on roads where riding abreast is permitted).
However, the ministry added that “for more serious cases, the cyclist may be charged in Court and face a fine of up to $1,000 and/or a jail term of up to 3 months for the first offence, and a fine of up to $2,000 and/or a jail term of up to 6 months for the second or subsequent offence.”
46 thoughts on “Singapore to ban cyclists from riding in groups longer than 5 bike lengths”
Are motorists likewise
Are motorists likewise limited to being in bunches of vehicles no greater than the length of a bus, with a safe distance of 30m between groups?
Does this help? https://sso
Does this help? https://sso.agc.gov.sg/SL/RTA1961-R11?ValidDate=20191201&ProvIds=P1IV-P4_66-
Looks like they are limited to a group of one and the safe distance changes with the speed they are travelling.
Sriracha wrote:
My thoughts exactly. After all, the report “takes into consideration the perspective of all road users. AMAP has taken a balanced and fair-minded approach, with the aim of strengthening road safety for all.”
That’ll be cars in twos and threes with 30m between them, to strengthen road safety for other road users, like cyclists.
alchemilla wrote:
cars travelling with a 2 second interval at 30mph will already be at 27m spacing.
So impossible for a driver to
So impossible for a driver to safely overtake.
Car is ~5m long, and needs sufficient room to allow 2s both in front and behind after overtaking.
So at 15mph (6.7m/s) (not unreasonable speed for group rides) they need ~32m minimum (with no margin of error, so more like 40-50m)…
So clearly if two groups are following each other with recommended gap then a car would need to overtake both groups in a single manoeuvre…
qwerty360 wrote:
Let me check the maths… 30 m distance – less 4.6m (the length of my car) = 25.4m. Divide that by two to work out the gap in front and behind, 12.7m. Need 2 seconds stopping distance, so 6.35m/s = 14.20455 mph
So should be able to overtake the rear group of cyclists, so long as I’m not travelling any faster than 14.2 mph when I pull back in behind the second from rear group (unless the second from rear group is travelling travelling less than 14.2 mph, in which case, I would need to reduce my speed to match, but could perhaps also decrease the distance).
I think what you’ve
I think what you’ve calculated is what it would take to be able to pull in and stop safely between two stationary groups of cyclists, which isn’t quite the same thing.
What qwerty360 is essentially saying is that if the groups of cyclists are already travelling at 15mph, 30m apart, there isn’t room for a car travelling at the same pace between them to maintain a 2s gap between each group and the car.
As it happens, what you’ve calculated also gives you the maximum speed at which this arrangement would be possible (ignoring the difficulty of manouvring the car into the gap so precisely). In other words, as long as the cyclists aren’t going faster than 14.2mph you could overtake in two hops; any faster and you couldn’t.
Of course that all rather assumes that the rear group wouldn’t adjust and ease off a bit to open the gap up once they start getting overtaken.
No, he has calculated that a
No, he has calculated that a car could be 2 seconds behind the front group while also being 2 seconds behind the rear group, if the gap between the groups is 30m, provided they are travelling at no more 14.2mph.
I think the term stopping distance is misleading 2s is the recomended gap for following other vehicles.
all sounds very tight though, to over take the first group and then pull in precisely matching speed exactly halfway between the groups.
wycombewheeler wrote:
Clever trick
[Typo apart] What you’ve said there is basically the same as my third paragraph. But in jh2727’s workings the limiting factor is the speed at which the driver of the car chooses to slot into the gap. That ignores the fact that that speed is dictated by the speed the cyclists are going, because the car has to keep pace to maintain the same station between them. In the original scenario, this speed was 15mph, so it was correct that it wouldn’t be possible to do the two-hop overtake and preserve 2s gaps to both groups.
Hmmm… how does one go about
Hmmm… how does one go about overtaking such a group?
Bucks Cycle Cammer wrote:
You’re just fishing! Pedal to the metal of course, you can’t give ’em any extra room since they’ve selfishly taken up slightly more space than a car and if you have to pull in on them to avoid hitting a driver coming the other way that’s their lookout.
chrisonatrike wrote:
As long as they pay the paintshop bill….
Fantastic idea and great
Fantastic idea and great rules, many which I’ve been a proponent of for a long time.
The only thing I’d quibble with is that if this law was adopted in the UK I’d like to see groups limited by number rather than total number of bike lengths – preferably a maximum of 6 riders outside of registered sportives.
We’d like you to just piss
We’d like you to just piss off. But it’s just as likely.
Wardy74 wrote:
Seems to be a mass consensus
Seems to be a mass consensus on that comment Nige!
Nigel, we can’t all limit the
Nigel, we can’t all limit the number of people we ride with just because you don’t have any mates, sorry. How would you impose that ridiculous law in London, when one frequently at rush hour finds oneself in a nose-to-tail stream of 50/100+ riders?
Rendel Harris wrote:
One merely looks around with a disgusted expression and says – for any of the more decent class who might be passing – “I hope you don’t think they’re with me!”
Top tip: ride a penny farthing to avoid having your nose to their tail. You do stand a higher chance of suffering violence due to being confused with Jeremy Vine though.
Nigel Garage wrote:
Great! We’re in!
Nigel Garage wrote:
Wait! We’re not??
You can have 5 of those
You can have 5 of those combinations and comply, it will be a long bus though!
None of these laws are
None of these laws are necessary or make any sense. Most legal restrictions anywhere should simply not apply to cycling. It’s a harmless pastime and a great way to get about.
So no more than five cars in
So no more than five cars in a group, harsh but the same logic obviously applies.
Gashead wrote:
“…which is approximately the length of a bus”
Two, perhaps three cars at most
Can’t chew bubblegum also.
Can’t chew bubblegum also.
I believe Singapore – for all
I believe Singapore – for all it’s virtues – is not noted as a place for carefree individualists or those who don’t obsess over rules. Unless you’re in charge or you wish to investigate your more masochistic side. On the the other side of the argument it’s also a fairly congested place.
Yes – sorry for Singaporean cycling sextuples. Suprised? No.
“This is for your own protection”.
The five bikes rule could be
The five bikes rule could be sensible.
Very large groups of recreational cyclists can effectively be a very long slow moving vehicle which is almost impossible to pass.
nicmason wrote:
even moreso when they get bullied into riding sigle file by drivers unhappy with the 2×5 formation.
If I had a pound for every
If I had a pound for every time a motorist slowed me up on my bicycle, I’d own a much nicer bike.
nicmason wrote:
Speak for yourself!
That’s going to be jolly
That’s going to be jolly awkward for a group of 10 riders having to keep splitting into 5 and then regroup when riding on a mix of roads.
bikeman01 wrote:
good, it only adds to the excitement of pretending you’re in an actual race.
There is no such role as
There is no such role as Ministry of Justice within the Singapore government, you might mean Singapore Government instead…
We know Singaporian attitudes
We know Singaporian attitudes to law an order. If this was proposed in the UK and the trade off was that the police would actually start enforcing other laws like close passing then I might back it. (It wouldn’t actually make much difference to me as long as the Sportive exception was in place).
However it doesn’t really address the issue of safety. The other week I was out cycling with my wife. Turning right at a roundabout a van pulled out on us. I was half expecting it so was ready and didn’t lose much speed. My wife on the other hand slowed right up. Hence coming off the roundabout we were strung out to more than 5 bike lengths. The van behind overtook my wife safely but then proceeded to overtake me as well despite oncoming traffic. Forcing both myself and the oncoming driver in to evasive manoeuvres.
In this country the best course of action would be to enforce the laws we already have and improve driving standards. We could then look at the risk assesment after that to decide what additional measures may be required.
IanMK wrote:
Which country? You do realise Road.cc has an international readership and relevance?
Living in Singapore sounds a
Living in Singapore sounds a bit like living in Nazi Germany…
GODWIN!
GODWIN!
Quite right, it is a totally
Quite right, it is a totally dictatorial state with very strict laws which are applied with often unnecessary force , with the sole object of keeping the ruling elite in power . It has been pointed out that there is limited space on the roads but that is the case in a great many countries , why is it that the number of cars is considered to be acceptable but not bikes , probably due to the fact that they don’t get a fiscal return from cyclists.
I know you’re jesting, but it
I know you’re jesting, but it’s a step too far comparing Singapore to nazi Germany. Singapore’s laws may seem strict to you however its style of governance is highly focused on social equality, environmental awareness, and economically positive. In ways it is a model state for other governments to benchmark against. I would say keep being you Singapore, just as much Netherlands or Japan or what have you.
Curious how me and four
Curious how me and four friends will comply with this on a single lane road when a sixth rider gets on our wheel and doesn’t pass. Are we now all in violation? Do we have to drop him? Send snot rockets until he backs off? Or are only the excess riders on the back in violation?
andystow wrote:
smart cops will only charge the 6th rider.
Like prosecuting the driver for going through a dark amber light, just get the last one, the one in front could argue it clearly wasn’t safe to stop, the next driver would have rear ended them. The first five can deny knowing the 6th (unless all in club jerseys) while the 6th has no excuse.
Or the other way around –
Or the other way around – what if your group of five catches up to another rider and doesn’t pass (because, y’know, not allowed to be two abreast on this road)? Are all of the group of five to blame, or only the one at the back (who had least to do with closing the gap)?
Concerns about road safety?
Concerns about road safety? Road safety for whome may I ask?
from personal experience, riding in a pack/peloton is safest for vulnerable road users like cyclists.
I don’t understand where this understanding of safety comes from.
I get held up by single
I get held up by single motorists driving double breast *all the time* in town, when do I get my justice eh?
I remember my SG visits. Guys
I remember my SG visits. Guys in all the gear riding in large lines of Pinarellos clogging up the main roads, sometimes causing tailbacks (as traffic was quite friendly). All it takes is to piss off the wrong lawmaker there as presumably they don’t roll on bikes in that heat. I can see how the gov would try and manage it, similar to how they have limited e scooter use and other things. That’s SG for you.
Overall, I find 2 and 3 more
Overall, I find 2 and 3 more objectionable:
2 Riding abreast of another cyclist on single lane roads, and on bus lanes during bus lane operational hours
3 Not riding as near as practicable to the far-left edge of the road
Number 2 seems objectionable unless single lane roads and bus lanes are substantially wider than they are in the UK
Number 3 seems objectionable without any caveats as to what is ‘practicable’. It isn’t safe to ride too close to the far-left edge of the road if there are pedestrians who may step into the road without looking. Nor is it safe to ride too close to the left edge when approaching a side road on the left as it can reduce your visibility to those who are emerging from the side road.