dangerous driving by taxis

last SG · 2005-03-07T21:22:27+00:00

I have to agree with you to a certain extent... but I think they are yaya to the fellow cabby not passenger ... I have sat in a few Merc Cab b 4, I only find...

bismarck SG

saw 2 reckless taxi drivers today

1. on a narrow slip road from the expressway(think PIE, cant remember) leading to toh tuck there...that road only allows for like 1 car only ? as my mum's car was leaning abit to the right, this tibs taxi suddenly came to our left and we were only inches away from each other, just suddenly dived in beside us!
it was only a second later before the distance increased to a comfortable 1.

i mean, isnt it like too close for comfort ?!

2. on a 2 lane road near the caltex station opp yusoh ishak Sec sch, this comfort taxi was on the 2nd most right lane and everyone was moving. then this taxi was stationary when we saw it and tried to switch lane to the extreme right.(our lane) while it's speed was so slow!

we could have easily crashed into it, fortunately that bugger moved off pretty quick!

wuming78 SG

i am very tempted to note down all my observations of horrible and atrocious driving by taxi drivers, and make the necessary complaints to the relevant companies! Evil or Very Mad

Bloop... SG

You'll need a notepad as thick as the bible everyday if you want to note down all that

bismarck SG

u mean britannica ?

given sg drivers

dumbdumb! SG

u nv see my friend driving, more "Scary"

haha yest we did smth stupid, neutral gear off engine, go down a steep slope lol.

lesson learnt: power steering is v useful, without it v hard to steer Embarassed

i_am_a_penis SG

no wonder taxi companies kenna fined by LTA for failing the safety standards

wondering if the taxi drivers are aware that most of the road users on the roads don't like them..

LH83 SG

Heh... I was waiting for the bus at the bus stop outside Anchorpoint shopping center... saw this taxi in the 2nd lane, nearest to the kerb, think the passenger didn't tell him in time where to turn in... he suddenly braked and tried to make a left turn into the taxi stands at the centre... nearly collided with an MPV behind him and a Vios on his left... The road is 3 lanes wide btw...

Just now, going home from my gf's place... At the junction of New Upper Changi Road and the MRT track there... near Bedok station... think the driver sleepy or wat... he wanted to beat the flashing green right turn arrow... couldn't make it in time, jammed brake just before the turn... then he slowly reversed back into the lane... knn... nearly give me heart attack...

mach10 SG

Remember, the name speaketh itself: Comfort Taxis... they're comfortable with anyform of driving...
Dangerous? not an issue...

Indeed i believe they know everyone on the road do not like them... likewise vice versa...

And all those ah peks young and old are earning their ricebowl. can't blame them, juz polish your driving skills is good enough to counter them.

Their Taxis rental if not wrong is $65 per day... of coz they need to pia for their ricebowls...

Impt note: cabbies are getting younger and younger these days... tt explains their skills... plus dangers. well they come in one big package...

cheerios!

Drain-V- SG

While it is certainly true that all of us driver have had our fair share of dangerous stunts by cabbies, we also need to think of how stressful it is behind the wheel for an extended period of time..

Hmm, too many cabbies and taxi companies = fiercer competition...

sbst275 SG

Hello... All these problems are caused by the regulators themselves... How? Now already off peak hr, taxi waiting for ppl.... Now even more taxi, making situation worst Mad

seancannot SG

Me is a taxi driver now after being forced to resign 6 months ago..........

b 4 that I was just like any of you swearing and cursing the taxi drivers

Let me tell you our story..

Our rental is $92 (before GST) per day that is for the lousiet cab nissan or toyota........... Mercz is $126 per day,

Our cost a day are as follow

$96 rental
$30 diesel
$3 parking

Total $130 per day

Theoritcally, After deducting rest time, meal time etc the hours we are able to make money are only..16 hours ..... and then there are peak and off peak hours..some time suay vehicle breakdown , company dun reimburse is its not more than 4 hours

during peak hour the max you can made is around $25 per hour

during off peak you can ply around for 2 hours and cannot get a single fare.

Say you drive the full 16 hours the max takign you can get is only $200

after deduct cost you made $70 that is for 16 hours of works

$70/ 16 hrs = $4.375 per hour

That is assuming you can tahan 16 hours of driving...........

You need to drive at least 8 hours just to breakeven on your cost

In addition, when you fall sick or have some urgent matter to attend to you dun get any MC or leave you still pay your rental..

Our typical nissan cedric and toyota crown is not like your sunny or corrolla that is comfortable to drive .. the driving position sucks , interior is dark and gloomy , engine is noisy and vibrates badly. After just driving for 2 hours I feel giddy and start to loose concentration. At the end of the day my leg cramp after controlling the clutch pedal for 16 hours..

After 3 months of driving I take home less than $1000 per month..

All I can say now is Taxi Driver is the worse job I ever had ... Goverment are introducing more taxis to generate more income for the coffer and to lower the umemployement rate . New taxi are introduce at a rate of 600 per month. all these take its toil on us....... the current driver. WE have to spend more time on the road competing with other driver for fare .. just go and look at the taxi queue at the taxi stand you know what I mean

Sometimes you dunno the way passenger scold you etc etc.. all the traffic jam add to your stress also.. some time unable to cover the cost stress again..

I have found another job recently ... and I tell myself I will cherish my new job and I will never want to be a taxi driver again !!

For the rest of you , try being a taxi driver for a day you will be more symphatetic and emphatic towards them they really lead a very hard life!

bismarck SG

as far as i can say, i am not looking down on taxi drivers..in fact it has helped me save sometime getting home, although at a higher cost. nvm that, it's a premium.

u also complained abt lack of reimbursement if repairs >4hrs. so, why are some drivers driving so dangerously ?

close to being side-swiped and also changing lanes so slowly in a busy road ?

the concerns abt costs while driving are also felt by ordinary drivers, having to worry abt ERP,petrol cost, which station has x% discount,etc

Bloop... SG

No one said being a taxi driver was easy. That still does not give you the green light to road rog or drive recklessly.

For instance... It's a very common site to see a taxi driver shoot immediately to the over taking lane the moment he/she hits a highway and then stay there regardless of how slow they are going... regardless of the speed of the 2nd and 3rd lane... regardless of the long line of cars trailing behind the cab trying to get by. I know not only cab drivers do this... but MANY do. Will it affect your earnings in anyway, if you got off the over taking lane into the 2nd or even 3rd lane if you're travelling at a speed safe enough to do so?

I was in a cab the other day and he nearly ran over a biker (usually I'd not give a crap... but this biker was riding safely in the center of a lane)... the taxi driver just changed lanes knowing full well that the biker was there. Simply expected the biker to get out of his way... Would it have impacted his pay in anyway had he pulled in behind the biker? ...or even speed up a little then change lanes safely in front of the biker?

Confused

sbst275 SG

You go be a cabby lah... How frustrating it is, you have a family to support

iveco SG

The Ford Falcon in Australia have auto transmission. It is so much better.

Even the Service Captains on routes 14 & 51 have it better than you. Their vehicles use Voith gearboxes.

seancannot SG

No one said being a taxi driver was easy. That still does not give you the green light to road rog or drive recklessly.

I concur totally with the author on the above. But after driving for long hours , your driving habit, style and manner would start to deteriorate for the worse. You will start driving abnormally.. which I do not know why

Maybe its becos you start to loose your concentration, your awareness drop. The stress and fear of unable to make end meet for the day will induce you to drive recklessly something dangerously. The pressure from the passenger who pressure you that they are hurried for time and late , you have to drive faster and change lane cos of last min direction from them etc....

Infact, looking back I thought it was foolish and stupid with some of the 'stunt' I did. All I made was a meagre few dollars I risked my life and others.

Dun be mistaken I am not those WRX or civic cheongster .. most of the stunt I did are last min changing lane and sudden deceleration cos the passenger direction was too sudden and last min. the most dangerous things I done, I think was pushing myself to drive when I can could barely open my eyelid and in super exhausted state but I had to cos I had to make end meet ...... I remember there was once I push myself so hard that I had chest pain could not breath and had to stop by the road side for half an hour rest before slowly making my way home

All I can say is I am safe driver normally, I became reckless becos of fear and stress and compel by circumstances.....

Pls understand our problem nobody wants to risk their own or others life we are just trying to make a living.. that is what I can say of most taxi drivers...

crazy_prata SG

last night when i was travelling along PIE towards changi and this stupid taxi suddenly cut thru my lane and try to move into the kallang exit without any warning, almost caught me off guard.

u know what the next thing i do... i horned him non stop all the way to kallang

kan ni nah beh taxi drivers... curse them all! Twisted Evil

seancannot SG

I believe this is something which not just taxi drivers are guiltly of..... hope u get a chance to be cabby !!

Me not trying to be defensive of cabby.. but have you ask yourself y cabby behave this way.. for me i am out of this hell .... but at least for now I understand what they are going thru.. I used to be just like you! Thot these cabby how come they cant drive properly , what the hell they are trying to do KNNB, CCB , I sweared and cursed just like u.

iveco SG

I hope this clears the air as to why cabbies behave the way they do. The real villains are the WRXes and Evos.

Bloop... SG

So your point is? Only taxi drivers get frustrated and have families to feed? That actually then gives them the right to roadhog and drive recklessly?