Cabby overtakes driver, allegedly stops to flash middle finger ‘repeatedly’ near Tanglin Road
A taxi driver allegedly cut into a man’s lane before stopping in the middle of the road and making a rude gesture at him.
Stomper AC said the incident happened on Aug 26 at around 1.36pm near Tanglin Road as he was headed towards Orchard Road.
According to AC, the taxi, a blue ComfortDelGro cab, was being driven recklessly and nearly caused an accident.
Video footage seen by Stomp shows the taxi cutting into AC’s lane from the right before stopping in front of his vehicle for about seven seconds.
A hand then emerges from the open driver’s-side window, seemingly to gesture at the Stomper. AC alleged that the driver pointed his middle finger and did so “repeatedly”.
The road, which has one lane in each direction, left little room for the taxi to stop without obstructing traffic behind it.
AC said he subsequently lodged a report via the Traffic Police’s online feedback form and complained to ComfortDelGro about the driver’s conduct.
In his complaint to the Traffic Police, AC said the driver’s actions were “intimidating, completely inappropriate and unacceptable” for someone operating a public taxi service.
AC told Stomp he has been driving for more than 40 years and described the incident as the first time he had encountered a driver who was “so reckless and dangerous”.
“That’s why I want to post this online to let him know,” he said.
ComfortDelGro takes disciplinary action
AC was informed by ComfortDelGro’s Zig Customer Service on Sept 4 that the company had investigated the incident and taken disciplinary action against the driver.
In a screenshot seen by Stomp, the company apologised for the “unpleasant incident” and said it does not condone reckless driving or poor service attitude among its drivers.
It added that such behaviour could compromise the “well-being and safety of other road users”.
“Please be assured that we take such matters very seriously as your safety is our top priority,” the company said.
ComfortDelGro also said it would continue to raise safety awareness among its taxi drivers and step up enforcement measures to weed out errant drivers with undesirable behaviour.
ComfortDelGro has not responded to Stomp’s requests for comment, which were sent on Sept 1 and Sept 7.
Stomp has reached out to the Traffic Police for comment.
Explore more on these topics
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
