Man dubs cyclists ‘idiots’, threatens to call police while on shared path in Punggol
A cyclist and his friend were left frustrated after a pedestrian confronted them for ringing their bicycle bells as they cycled past him and his son along a shared path in Punggol.
Stomper Larry and his friend had been cycling towards Waterway Point at around noon on Aug 9. As they were approaching a man — clad in a navy blue top and sunglasses — and his son, the cyclists rang their bicycle bells several times to alert the pedestrians.
Despite having forged ahead, the man and his son caught up with the cyclists at the pedestrian crossing, where the confrontation began.
“I was initially surprised and confused because we had already passed them with no issue and continued on our way,” Larry said.
“I did not expect them to purposely catch up to us at the traffic light to confront us.”
Larry alleged that the men repeatedly called the cyclists “idiots who couldn’t read” while questioning whether they were allowed to cycle on the same path.
The Stomper felt that the man had been “road raging” at the cyclists for ringing their bells at him.
In the video submitted to Stomp, filmed a while after the man began his tirade, the man can be heard saying, “You’re not supposed to ride here. You dismount and walk, dismount and walk. You are not able to read.”
The video didn’t capture any “Dismount and Push” signs on the path.
Additionally, the man threatened to call the police and told the cyclists they could be fined $2,000. “Not happy, you call police, see who is right or wrong,” he said.
The man could also be seen pointing at the cyclists and gesturing animatedly. Towards the end of the video, he walked away with his son, who donned a bright orange outfit.
The clip ends with a cut to a sign that says the path was a shared track meant for pedestrians and cyclists alike.
‘Dismount and Push’ or ‘No Riding’ signs allegedly not present
Larry was aware that the path he and his friend were riding on was narrower due to construction works and that there were “Pedestrian Access” signs on the construction hoarding.
However, he understood that the route remain a shared path based on the visible brown signage at the location.
“If there was a ‘No Riding’ sign at that particular section, I did not see one,” he said.
Larry recognises that cyclists have a responsibility to ride cautiously around pedestrians and does not think pedestrians should have to move immediately out of a cyclist’s way.
However, his understanding is that riders should give way to pedestrians, slow down around others, maintain a safe distance, walk their bicycles in crowded areas and gently alert others before overtaking.
“Our use of the bicycle bell was intended as that alert,” he said, adding that he did not expect pedestrians to immediately get out of the way.
According to LTA’s regulations, bicycles are allowed on footpaths — unmarked paths beside roads and within HDB estates — and shared paths marked with ‘Cyclist’ and ‘Pedestrian’ logos. Cyclists must also abide by the respective speed limits on these paths.
No need to involve police: Cyclist
Larry said there was no physical confrontation and he did not make a police report, despite the man threatening to call the police.
“I didn’t think the incident was serious enough to require police involvement,” he said.
Larry said he hoped the incident would encourage both cyclists and pedestrians to be more gracious to each other on shared paths rather than escalate minor misunderstandings into confrontations.
Explore more on these topics
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
