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Knowledge base Road rules 4 min read

Motorcycle sidecars in Singapore

Singapore's rules allow motorcycle sidecars for passengers or goods, subject to size, fitment, load and lid requirements.

motorcycle sidecar vehicle-equipment

Primary source: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/SL/RTA1961-R9?ProvIds=pr9-

Permitted use and dimensions

A motorcycle may be fitted with a sidecar to carry a passenger or goods. The sidecar's overall length must not exceed 1,400 millimetres. Its overall width, measured from the point where it attaches to the motorcycle to the outside face of its tyre, must not exceed 1,020 millimetres. Its overall height must not exceed 800 millimetres. For a vehicle used by an ice-cream vendor, the sidecar may be higher than 800 millimetres, but cannot exceed 1,100 millimetres (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules, r. 9).

A sidecar constructed to carry goods must have one or more lids (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules, r. 9(6)).

Attachment and goods load

The sidecar must be attached so that its wheel is not wholly outside the perpendicular planes, at right angles to the motorcycle's longitudinal axis, passing through the motorcycle's frontmost and rearmost projecting points (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules, r. 122).

For a goods-carrying motorcycle sidecar, rule 101(3) says the load-weight provisions of rule 101 are deemed complied with if the sidecar's load does not exceed 70 kilogrammes. This is the wording and scope of that paragraph; it should not be read as a general weight permission overriding the rule's other safety requirements (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules, r. 101(1), (3)).

Rule 123 separately states that a motorcycle must not draw a trailer. The Rules address sidecars separately in rules 9 and 122 (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules, rr. 9, 122–123).

Rear-view mirrors

The mirror rules expressly cover a motorcycle with or without an attached sidecar. Since 1 May 2026, a motorcycle registered on or after that date must have at least one mirror on each side to help its rider see traffic behind. This two-mirror requirement does not apply to a motorcycle registered or re-registered as a classic vehicle, normal vintage vehicle, restricted vintage vehicle or revised use vintage vehicle; motorcycles registered before that date and those listed vehicles must have at least one mirror on either the left or right side (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules, r. 20(3)).

For motorcycles subject to the two-mirror requirement, each mirror must meet UN Regulation 81, Japanese Article 44 (as in force on 1 May 2001), EU Regulation 168/2013 as supplemented by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 3/2014 and amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 2016/1824, or another standard recognised by the Registrar or an authorised officer as equally safe or more stringent. Every mirror fitted under rule 20 must be securely attached, sufficiently isolated from vibration, adjustable and able to maintain its adjustment (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules, r. 20(3A)–(4)).

Coverage debt

  • The cited construction and use provisions do not set out sidecar-specific licence-class or passenger-capacity details. This article does not infer those details from the sidecar dimensions.

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