KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and individuals with health problems who use Personal Mobility Aids (PMA) may use pedestrian crossings on public roads, says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong.
He said, however, users were advised to be careful of their own safety as well as that of other pedestrians while crossing the road.
“There is a bit of confusion among the public, especially the disabled, regarding the rules for the use of PMA equipment. PMA micromobility vehicles are generally vehicles that are designed and built for the use of individuals with mobility problems and especially the disabled.
“The use of this PMA on the road is prohibited. This means, that no one is allowed to use them on roads with other motor vehicles such as cars, lorries and buses.
“If it is not banned, the use of PMA on roads, including on highways, will pose a high risk of road accidents and loss of life or injury. This is also to prevent the PMA from being misused by healthy individuals on the road,” he said in a statement today.
He said this to clarify the confusion among some quarters about the ban on PMA vehicles on the road.
Yesterday Wee announced that mopeds, Personal Mobility Devices (PMD) and PMA micromobility vehicles were banned from use on the road with immediate effect.
However, Wee said the use of PMA is not prohibited for use on surfaces other than roads, because it was outside the scope of the Road Transport Act 1987 and this Prohibition Rule.
He said use on surfaces or locations such as in shopping malls, sidewalks and parks was subject to the rules of the relevant authorities or the owners of the parks or shopping malls.
“All parties should be aware that in developing this policy, the ministry had also held an engagement session with representatives of the Social Welfare Department, OKU Sentral and OKU associations on April 23, 2021, to obtain input from these parties on the implementation of the ban on the use of micromobility vehicles,” he said. — Bernama
