Product safety requirements of PMDs to be reviewed

SINGAPORE — The product safety requirements of personal mobility devices (PMDs) will be reviewed in the wake of recent cases of fires involving these increasingly popular transportation tools.

Spring Singapore and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a joint reply to TODAY’s queries that these devices currently do not need to be type-tested and certified compliant before they are sold in Singapore. But new measures could be in the offing after a review to be undertaken by the two agencies.

While they did not specify when the review will begin or how long it will last, Spring will be sampling PMD models from the market for “conformity testing”, in view of rising incidences of fires involving PMDs.

PMDs fall under the Consumer Protection (Consumer Goods Safety Requirements) Regulations 2011 (CGSR), which covers consumer goods that are not already regulated by other specific legislations. Under the CGSR, SPRING conducts market surveillance and monitors the safety of these goods.

Meanwhile, the LTA only regulates the usage and specifications of PMDs under the Active Mobility Act, which covers the device’s weight, width and speed. Power-Assisted Bicycles (PABs) are regulated under the Road Traffic Act and must be certified compliant with the relevant requirements and registered with LTA before they can be used here.

Adaptors, including those used to charge PMDs, have to be type-tested and certified compliant with the relevant safety standards and carry the Safety Mark before they can be sold in Singapore.

There have been at least 34 cases of fires involving PMDs so far this year. Between January and September this year, there were 31 cases, up from 19 cases over the same period last year.

On Nov 7, four people were sent to the hospital after a fire broke out at Block 260, Yishun Street 22 after an e-scooter that was left to charge overnight caught fire.

Last month, four residents in Bukit Batok were injured in a fire caused by the overnight charging of an electric bicycle. The sister-in-law of one of the injured told TODAY that the bicycle, which was being charged in the corridor, had been connected to a power socket in the flat via a wire slotted through the window. The owner had forgotten to turn off the power, she said then.

The agencies urged consumers to exercise caution when purchasing and charging PMDs and PABs, including how they should avoid overcharging batteries and store them away from direct heat sources and combustible materials.