Passenger says TADA driver kept falling asleep during his ride

SINGAPORE: A man took to social media to write about a recent TADA ride where, unfortunately, the driver kept falling asleep. And while he showed compassion for the driver, he underlined how dangerous a sleepy driver is to everyone on the road.

“Driver was obviously very tired,” wrote Mr Alexo Yeoh on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE page in a post on Saturday (Dec 2). “He was constantly hard braking, steering away from the side of the road as he was trying to avoid the corners and at one point literally dozed off during the a junction.”

He also posted a rather alarming photo wherein the driver appears to have nodded off at the wheel, as well as a screenshot of the booked ride, with pertinent details covered.

Mr Yeoh was not unsympathetic toward the TADA driver but called out his dangerous behaviour, and tagged the company in his post.

“We understand the hardships of driving the entire day. But this time, it is totally unacceptable.  As much as he wants to earn his money, our lives shouldn’t be put at risk. TADA Singapore how? Like this can meh?” he added.

The Independent Singapore has contacted Mr Yeoh, and TADA, for further comments or updates.

Read: Grab passenger says drivers must get enough sleep before accepting another ride, but Grab customer service “didn’t get it”

Mr Yeoh’s post has generated dozens of comments and shares, and some netizens encouraged him to talk to the driver to help him stay awake when he finds himself in this type of situation, although it should not be a passenger’s responsibility to help keep a driver awake and alert.

One woman who had learned a lesson through a painful experience gave this advice: “Wake him up and tell him to rest by the side of the road with hazard lights on or just sleep. Meanwhile you find another ride. I had this same situation when I was 19. He woke up and jam braked to avoid an accident and I fractured my nose when I hit the back of his seat.”

Another commenter who had the same experience shared that he had once taken a taxi at 2:00 am from Chinatown to Yishun. The driver played a getai song and sang along very loudly, and the passenger could see that he did this to fight sleepiness.

However, “After AMK Ave 5, the taxi stopped in the middle of the expressway because the driver fell asleep and his legs weren’t pressing on the accelerator. I had to wake him up and tell him to wind down the windows. I did strike convos but he was just too sleepy.”

Read also: RYDE driver caught falling asleep 3 times while driving, almost hit another car, scares passenger /TISG