An unhappy Gojek driver confronted one of his passengers — a man and his young child — as well as their new driver.
The filming driver had rejected the passenger due to a lack of a car booster seat, as required by law for children under 1.35m.
The passenger refused to cancel the initial request and booked a new driver, who accepted them despite lacking a booster seat.
The driver threatened to report the new driver for breaking the regulations.
According to the Facebook video on SG Road Vigilante, a private-hire vehicle (PHV) driver for the rideshare company Gojek picked up a man and his young daughter at Hilltops condos yesterday (27 Aug).
Noticing that his daughter was below 1.35m, the driver explained that he had no booster seat. Due to this, he turned down his passengers.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s oft-forgotten rule states that all non-taxi private cars in Singapore require a booster seat for passengers below the stated height.
If no booster seat is present, the driver would not be allowed to accept the passenger by law. According to Singapore Legal Advice, breaking this law risks a fine of up to S$1,000 or up to three months’ jail.
Although turned down, the passenger refused to cancel the booking as he did not want to pay the waiting fees.
He then booked a new PHV.
When the new driver accepted the passengers despite having no booster seat either, the initial Gojek driver angrily confronted them on camera.
Source: SGRV on Facebook
In Hokkien, he asked why the new driver, a red-shirted man, picked up the passengers without a booster seat. The new driver appeared confused.
The filming driver then threatened to report the new driver for breaking the law if he accepted the passengers.
From the back seat, the passenger said he did not understand why he had to cancel and pay the waiting fees if the driver rejected him.
The driver sternly explained that if the passenger had a child below 1.35m, it was his responsibility to book a GoCar Kids service. GoCar Kids cars come equipped with booster seats.
Therefore, it was up to the passenger to cancel and pay the waiting fees as he had booked the incorrect service.
Despite this, the passenger once more refused to cancel the booking. This left the first driver unable to continue with his job.
The passenger even argued that he never had this issue before. The annoyed driver replied that it did not make breaking the law okay.
The new driver attempted to deflect the argument by saying it was between the initial driver and the passenger.
At this moment, a security guard arrived to ask about the situation, and the Gojek did not hesitate to fill him in.
In a calm voice, the security guard suggested that the driver lodge a complaint instead.
However, the initial and new drivers continue trading barbs in their war of words. The filming man stated that as a driver, he should know that taking a child without a booster seat was breaking the law.
The frustrated new driver challenged the filming driver to report him, which the latter readily accepted. As they argued angrily, the security guard stepped in and defused the situation, telling everyone to “relax”.
The video ends with the passenger allegedly cancelling the initial driver’s booking.
You can watch the entire argument here.
While the filming driver’s confrontational attitude likely contributed to the flaring of tempers, he was right about the laws surrounding booster seats.
With the regulations being made with safety in mind, he was ultimately only looking out for the passenger and his daughter.
It’s best to keep the law in mind if travelling with a child, and to book the right service or take a taxi instead.
Earlier this year, another rideshare driver argued with his passenger and kicked him out of his car.
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Featured image adapted from SGRV on Facebook.
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