Singapore Expats

Have been here 9 months using public transport and taxis to get around. For the most part, taxi services work ok but I have had several dangerous incidents and I wondered if others had similar experiences.

- One Saturday morning I was with my family on our way to a day out when our taxi driver literally fell asleep at some traffic lights in Bukit Timah. The lights turned green and the other cars moved away but we stayed put until I woke him up. He was obviously completely unfit to drive. This was not the only time I have noticed drivers who appear excessively tired - you probably know the signs - blinking a lot as they strain to keep their eyes open, repeatedly wiping the hand across the face, turning up the aircon blowers. I asked another driver later on about working hours and it seems that they can often be on the road for 14-15 hours to make a living. Surely this is dangerous and not acceptable in a first world country?

- Second incident. On my way to the airport again with wife and kids in tow at 5am in the morning. A younger driver probably late twenties / early thirties, he is clocking 120kmh on the PIE in an old Toyota Crown. I ask him to slow down and he tells me that this is not fast, in any case he believes in fate and if our time is up then we will die anyway because its gods will. Whilst continuing to drive fast, he gets his digital camera out and using one hand, he finds a photo and hands me the camera. It is a picture of a BMW dashboard with the speedo on 200kmh - he tells me this is fast and that he took the picture whilst driving his BMW on a highway in Malaysia.

Welcome to Singapore!

Husband was coming home from work, got in a Mercedes at Changi which immediately crashed into the back of another taxi. Husband got out and got into another taxi. Luckily he wasn't hurt.

Most drive like madmen, but not all. You can always get out. I did a few times.

dont even get me started on cabbies here....this morn on ECP one of the new Mecs almost slipped into my lane and only gave me way when I pressed the horn for 5 secs....

the construction labor is being trucked in open flatbed trucks on a highway at 90 km....what if one of those guys fall off....it will create a massive chain reaction crash !...

Left Wing wrote:the construction labor is being trucked in open flatbed trucks on a highway at 90 km....what if one of those guys fall off....it will create a massive chain reaction crash !...

Nah, no one will ever notice. If a foreign worker falls off it would have to be off the back of the vehicle and the sides are too high and the way Singaporeans love to tailgate, the vehicle following will have already run over the dude before even realizing the guy fell off because the driver was too busy typing out a sms with his mobile phone in one had and drinking his cafe latte in the other while steering with his knee. The guy behind him won't see the guy who fell out either cause he is almost up the talpipe of the driver ahead of him and the ones behind them will, by then, just think it's just another big dog that been totally flattened earlier.

the way Singaporeans love to tailgate....what is with that....driving BMW's Lambos and tailgate at 90 km ????????.....need to get one those humvee with machine guns !...[/i][/b]

Do not tolerate it, I simply tell them to slow down (note dont ask tell)....you may get the standard reply that i am a safe driver (yeah right!!).

I even tell them to stop the incessant lane cutting and jumping, or tailgating. They dont like it but heck its my life..

THEY WORKING 24 HOURS ,, THAT'S WHY !!

He he he, the taxi drivers here are like a dream compared to the ones in Dubai. Seriously though, we have had two bad drivers here in the past seven months, and one with a bad attitude. Still not a good record.

I guess bad taxi drivers (driving ability) is probably viewed when compared with one's own driving habits. I question the driving abilities of anyone who thinks the majority of taxi drivers here are good drivers.

I think everyone has a cabby story here - mine is not too bad, the guy falling asleep on the benjamin Sheares bridge and crossing over 3 lanes before I could wake him up. Somehow, we missed all the intervening traffic .

I try to assess now whether they are tired or not before getting in. So far, no repeats.

This sort of thing , and the local "she'll be right" attitude to child saftey were contributing reasons to shelling out for a car.

batgirl_cdn wrote:He he he, the taxi drivers here are like a dream compared to the ones in Dubai. Seriously though, we have had two bad drivers here in the past seven months, and one with a bad attitude. Still not a good record.

or saudi. ...

sundaymorningstaple wrote:I guess bad taxi drivers (driving ability) is probably viewed when compared with .....

good taxi drivers??

I've met a couple......






Over the past 26 years........

Following is the POV of a taxi driver. The erratic driving may not always be the taxi driver's fault. Sometimes, passengers would asked him to turn left while pointing to the right. Fares are kept artificially low making it hard for them to make a living. They put out a survey seeking public opinion to increase taxi fare but it was unfavorable and was not effected. If the society is unwilling to pay for good service, they should not expect it. For those who have used taxi services around the world, including 3rd world countries, wouldn't you say the taxi fare in SG is very low?

Are Singapore taxi drivers the most hardworking in the world? I sometimes think so. On average, we (day-shift and night-shift drivers combined) clock 600-800km per day per taxi.

Do you know how far 600km is? It is about the distance by road from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and back again.

Our monthly rental, including fuel, is about $5,200 a month. Our flag-down fare starts from $2.50. How many trips do we have to make to pay for the rental, the fuel and still make money to feed our families?"


Next time, when you see a taxi signalling left but suddenly turning to the right, don't be too quick to point a finger at him. It could be the passenger giving him the wrong signal. If you see a taxi driving on the left, give way to him because he could be picking up or dropping passengers.

To our valued customers, thank you for your fare. Hope you appreciate our service.