private hire driver<\/a>‘s phone during a recent 10-minute journey.<\/p>\nThe clip also showed that they were 300m away from Lower Delta Road.<\/p>\n
The incident was shared on Facebook group Complaint Singapore, where the passenger posted footage showing a video playing on a phone mounted near the driver’s dashboard while the vehicle was moving.<\/p>\n
Yikes! What if the episode ended on a cliffhanger and he was dying to know what happened next?<\/p>\n
Now, before anyone reaches for their pitchforks,\u00a0it isn’t clear whether the driver was actually looking at the video while driving.<\/p>\n
Maybe he had been watching something earlier while waiting for a job, and simply forgot to switch it off?<\/p>\n
What we do know is that the passenger wasn’t comfortable that it was still playing while the driver was driving.<\/p>\n
However, in a lengthy Facebook post, the passenger claimed that seeing PHV drivers streaming shows and videos had become increasingly common in Singapore.<\/p>\n
“Streaming dramas and videos has practically become part of the standard package for private hire drivers in Singapore now,” they claimed<\/p>\n
During this particular ride, they considered speaking up.<\/p>\n
“To the driver, it was just a 10-minute trip. I was sorely tempted to voice out on the spot, but after seeing viral videos of drivers turning aggressive and shouting at passengers, why risk an escalation inside a moving car?” they wrote.<\/p>\n
Instead, the passenger recorded what was happening from the back seat.<\/p>\n
Their main concern was simple: whatever is playing inside the car shouldn’t distract the person responsible for driving it.<\/p>\n
“Keeping your eyes on the road is a basic legal requirement, not an optional feature you unlock with higher fares,” they wrote.<\/p>\n
The passenger also anticipated criticism that posting the footage could jeopardise the driver’s livelihood.<\/p>\n
“If you choose to gamble passengers’ lives just to binge-watch shows while navigating traffic, you are the one breaking your own rice bowl,” they wrote.<\/p>\n
The passenger says they subsequently lodged an official report about the incident before posting the footage online.<\/p>\n
Netizens were divided. Some commenters agreed with the passenger and felt the driver should face consequences.<\/p>\n
“They are so unbelievably selfish playing with people’s lives this way,” said one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another was even more direct, and wrote, “I hope he loses his licence for good.”<\/p>\n
Others, however, questioned whether a video simply playing meant the driver was actually watching it.<\/p>\n
“Wahhhh. Now I cannot play music on YouTube on my Android player anymore already. If not, I also become viral already,” joked one commenter.<\/p>\n
Another asked: “Listen also got problem now?”<\/p>\n
There were also those who questioned why the incident needed to be posted publicly at all.<\/p>\n
“Any issue with the driver, just feedback to [the] platform. Why must post on social media?” asked one.<\/p>\n
Under Singapore’s Road Traffic Act, motorists must not drive without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other road users.<\/p>\n
For a basic offence under Section 65 where no hurt, grievous hurt or death is caused, a first-time offender can be fined up to S$1,500, jailed for up to six months, or both.<\/p>\n
Repeat offenders can face a fine of up to S$3,000, up to 12 months’ jail, or both.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n