I REFER to Ms Tracy Tan's letter on Thursday, 'A ban on motorcycles seems uncalled for'. Sentosa's longstanding policy of not allowing guests to ride their motorcycles on the island is centred on safety.

Sentosa's roads are relatively narrow and winding and flanked by trees. They are also often single lane in each direction and this creates blind spots for drivers. Due to their small size, motorcycles are usually more vulnerable to accidents on such roads, especially when weather conditions are poor.

Motorcycles tend to pick up speed faster than other vehicles. Given the island speed limit of 40kmh, speeding vehicles could pose a danger to guests walking along or crossing the roads.

Motorcycles can also be easily manoeuvred into areas such as pedestrian pavements and buggy tracks where other vehicles cannot gain access, and compromise pedestrian safety.

There are some exceptions to the No Motorcycle rule. They include Sentosa's island rangers carrying out their duties, emergency and essential services and dispatch riders delivering documents and packages to our island partners and Sentosa Cove residents.

Several Sentosa Cove residents also own motorcycles. However, they are allowed to ride only between mainland Singapore and their homes via the Sentosa causeway bridge.

Lee Cheow Hiang
Deputy Director, Loss Prevention
Sentosa Leisure Group

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

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