A ride with a taxi driver from hell
TODAY WEDNESDAY
APRIL 7, 2010
Those who cannot drive responsibly
should be given their marching orders
PAUL GILFEATHER
Over the weekend, I was hur¬tling down the PIE at break¬neck
speed, both hands gripping the seat in front of me in an at¬tempt
to stop myself from being bounced all over the back seat. Suddenly
and without warn¬ing, the car I was travelling in cut off the
motorist in the lane to my left. As the unsuspecting victim swerved
skilfully to avert a col¬lision, my driver slammed on his brakes to
prevent us plunging into the car in front. He did so with
centimetres to spare, leaving my heart in my mouth. The only person
apparently oblivious to the mayhem of the last 10 seconds was the
man re¬sponsible for creating it.
Sounds familiar? Singapore is home to many things. The world's
most beautiful orchids, the great¬est zoo on the planet, heavenly
hawker stalls... and the taxi driver from hell. The reckless
driving of ma¬niac cabbies definitely tops my very short list of
"Things I hate about Singapore". It seems to be the subject I rant
about the most as I struggle to comprehend the outrageous antics I
witness on a near-daily basis. So, I was delighted to discover
yesterday that I am not alone in my concerns. A brilliant website,
Singapore Taxi Driver (singaporetaxi.20m. com), has been set up in
an at¬tempt to clamp down on these bad apples who are turning the
island’s roads into a race track. The site names and shames the
worst offenders and invites testimonials from passengers who have
been scared out of their wits, or suffered other ordeals.
All-too-familiar tales of fare fiddling, road rage and failing
to stop are logged in bitter detail. But the most frequent
complaints to surface is about bad driving - a far cry from the
rules of the road drummed into me as an 18-year-old learner. It’s
no laughing matter. There have been several occasions when I have
felt compelled to demand that a taxi driver stop gambling with my
life. Sometimes my fears are met with a blank expression of feigned
ignorance, other times, the drivers can barely conceal their
contempt. Whatever the response, there seems to be a general
failure among cabbies — both good and bad to admit irresponsible
driving among their ranks. It's as if there is a secret
un¬derground game called "Death Wish Driver" going on, where the
player (the driver) tries to give his opponent (the passenger) a
heart attack by pretending all other ve¬hicles on the road are
invisible to him.
I jest, of course, but there is a serious point to all this.
Strapping myself into the back seat of his taxi — something I never
felt the need to do before moving here - I asked one cab¬bie what
he really thought about Singapore taxi drivers. With a wry smile,
he said: "The Singapore taxi driver is like Saddam Hussein in a
Formula 1 racing car." Ruthless, dictatorial, danger¬ous and with a
single-minded determination to overtake every car in sight. His
colourful descrip¬tion of a four-lane fascist was so brilliantly
accurate, I laughed out loud. His portrayal is more accurate than
even he probably realises.
Unfortunately, I doubt the sit¬uation will improve any time
soon, but it's good to know the Singapore Taxi Driver website is
fighting back on behalf of concerned passen¬gers and providing a
much-needed forum for their views. If you have been a victim, do
not hesitate to log on and docu¬ment your ordeal. You can also
register your complaints at the feedback sec¬tion of the Land
Transport Au¬thority's website - something I will do in future. It
is at this point I should make clear that the bad drivers, whom
I've singled out, are a minority.
There are some 35,000 cab¬bies on Singapore's roads and the vast
majority do provide friendly and professional service. But I'd also
like to see these drivers join the war against their irresponsible
colleagues to make our roads safer. It's a cliche, but you know
what they say about a few rotten apples spoiling the barrel. If you
are one of those drivers who has been on the receiving end of a
complaint, or wondered about the fear-struck passenger in your back
seat, it is time to have a serious rethink about your chosen
profession. When you start the meter, remember the safety of your
pas¬sengers and other road-users is paramount.
There is a waiting list of a 1,000 people who want to be taxi
drivers, so those who cannot drive responsibly should be given
their marching orders. Cab companies should use this waiting list
to re¬place bad apples one by one, until the rogue element is
weeded out completely. It's time to say "Game Over" to those
playing "Death Wish Driver". Lives are at risk. •
The writer is the principal correspondent at TODAY.
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I post this here because I am not a taxi driver, and always the
passenger when I am in a taxi.
I have this idea a long time ago, that the professional standard
of our taxi drivers need to be raised up several notches.
I was shouted at very loudly by a driver in the confined space
of the vehicle when I directed the driver into the wrong carpark,
dispite the fact that I told him i will pay whats on the meter.
Another driver at the airport was all helpful loading my bags and
all smiles, but when reach my flat, just sat in the drivers seat
and pulled the boot lever. The smile gone. I unload my bags myself
and gave him the exact fare, down to the last cent. I tip other
drivers who had helped me unload on previous occasions.
I agree that the bad apples are a minority, but it is the
general service standard that needs to be raised. Those that cannot
make it, should take their re-training seriously or have their
licence revoked.
That is the gist of this article.