TAXI DRIVERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 60 ACCIDENTS A DAY!
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From on line and other data sources I discovered that Singapore Taxi’s account for 3% of total vehicle population but shockingly Singapore Taxi Drivers are involved in 14% of all reported road accidents. According to online portal AsiaOne Motoring, Taxis are involved in approximately 60 accidents a day! Source: http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20100516-216523.html Do drivers of service vehicles in Singapore, carelessly go about on public roads getting involved in accidents knowing full well that their daily earnings will be taken care of, in the event that they be involved in an accident. This is unacceptable and irresponsible behaviour by public and service transport providers. I am concerned because there is also statistical data revealing that there has been an increase in elderly pedestrian fatalities. Additionally, I have come across more and more motorist (motorcyclists included) who are mounting cameras as a safe guard, in their vehicles. Is this what road behaviour has come to in Singapore. Just the other day I witnessed a serious accident. A car was going through a cross junction just as the amber light switched to red, he was driving at average speed and was too close to the intersection to apply his brakes, I was three car lengths behind. An SBS Bus swung around the corner at speed on a green arrow. Obviously the bus had approached the intersection without slowing down too much and capitalised on perfect timing from the green light. The collision was serious with car meeting bus head-to-head. I could see the bus driver rushing out and claiming that he had the right of way as a consequence of the green arrow in his favour. This was at the Bukit Panjang intersection in front of Bukit Panjang Plaza. A second incident involved a trailer at the intersection of Farrer and MacRitchie Road where a trailer obviously at speed, negotiated the corner and piled his load of concrete beams at the road intersection. I hate to think what if there had been a car and family to the left of that trailer? Would that driver have been so nonchalant as he called in for assistance then? A third example was when I proceeded to come onto the BKE from the Dairy Farm Slip Road. The taxi to my right sped up and drove his vehicle alongside the right of my car purposefully forcing me to halt at the shoulder with no more road ahead of me. Is it not common sense for vehicles in lane one to give way and is there not a rule that stipulates that on-coming traffic onto any highway has the right of way and only! The question is; before the advent of lane markings, traffic lights and technical regulatory devices in place would any of these drivers have behaved such? The answer is that most would have slowed down because it is an intersection and the taxi driver would have slow down because there is a lane bringing traffic onto the highway. It seems that a significant proportion of Singapore Road Users appear only bright enough to be governed by lights, rules and regulations, as the majority lack good common sense and care! Why is it that drivers of these vehicles do not realise that the signals, speed limits, signs and lines on our roads can only act to help bring about safer road use, the devices themselves do not bring about road safety! There is a second part to this equation and this rests with the intellect of the individual. I have a suggestion to make that will see one influential group of drivers change their driving habits and improve Singapore safety statistics immediately. This should be directed at Taxi Drivers and Operators for a start. Public service vehicle insurance policies should be amended to exclude any claims that will cover Rental Cost and Income Losses for hirers involved in traffic accidents. Taxi Drivers, who are hirers cannot possibly be treated as clients renting a vehicle for personal use with an option to recover costs of use. On last check Taxi Drivers are registered as being Self Employed are they not? Does this mean that a taxi driver can go on a paid holiday when his vehicle is laid up for accident repairs and are current policies funding such? It appears obvious that this policy change will immediately see road behaviour improve and accident rates decrease with this influential group of road users. Consequently we should also see the number of insurance claims reduce (inflated or not) alongside an improved taxi service, with fuller fleet representation.
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i stopped reading when i saw "SBS bus at Bukit Panjang."
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Originally posted by sinicker:
i stopped reading when i saw "SBS bus at Bukit Panjang."
The last time one was sighted there, it was big news and ended up on the front page of the Chinese paper, Wanbao, and even on radio.
And the driver was sacked.
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This is called sensationalization of the stats.
Taxis are a different category of vehicles from the other vehicles.
Taxis are by default are destined to be kept on the move all the times. It is not a park at Point A and move and park at Point B vehicle. Which is what all the other vehicles are.
Being constantly on the move, it is exposed to greater probability of collision with other vehicles or other objects, including humans.
So the stats should not be surprising or shocking.