Grab driver caught texting while driving in S’pore, suspended after video surfaces
A Grab passenger recently took to Facebook to share a concerning experience during a ride, where the driver was seen texting on his phone multiple times while driving.
“Irresponsible grab driver, continuously texting with both hands!” he captioned the post.
Source: Facebook
The passenger, who wanted to be known as Mr Tomas, captured a video showing the driver stealing glances at his phone and typing with one hand.
At times, the driver even removed both hands from the steering wheel to repeatedly tap on his device.
Drove recklessly for about 15 minutes
Speaking to MS News, Mr Tomas shared that the incident occurred on Thursday (21 Nov) at about 3.16pm during a GrabCar Premium ride from Tanjong Rhu to Novena.
Image courtesy of Mr Tomas
“What you saw in the video is a shorter patch,” Mr Tomas said. “Let’s say ride was 15 minutes or so. During that period, he texted over 10 times.”
He added that he only started filming after noticing the driver texting repeatedly.
“He seemed to [be using] WhatsApp or a similar app,” the 35-year-old pastry chef said. “I was not really looking as I was paying more attention to the road — considering how much of a danger I was in.”
Mr Tomas added that he did eventually make a comment to the Grab driver to urge him not to use his phone.
“His reaction was to grin and ignore,” he said.
However, he added that the driver had three other phones mounted in the car so he might have been pre-occupied and “didn’t process” the comment.
Grab gave ‘generic’ reply
After the ride, Mr Tomas reported the issue to Grab, but he claimed the company initially provided a “generic” response and even sent him the “same” letter when he reached out to them again.
“It’s clearly a case of a copy-paste situation,” Mr Tomas said.
In response to MS News’ queries, a Grab spokesman said the driver captured on video violated its code of conduct and it has since suspended him.
“We have also reached out to the passenger to apologise for the experience and refunded the booking.”
It would also like to remind its drivers that using a mobile phone while driving, including texting or holding the device, is strictly prohibited under the Road Traffic Act in Singapore.
“Driver-partners found to have violated our code of conduct or traffic laws may be permanently banned on our platform,” added the spokesman.
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Featured image adapted from Tomas on Facebook.
