A Singapore passenger has raised concerns about road safety after allegedly spotting her private-hire driver using WhatsApp while driving, prompting a heated exchange during the journey.
The incident was shared on Instagram account @sgfollowsall, where the passenger claimed the driver’s phone was mounted on the dashboard but had WhatsApp open while the vehicle was moving.
According to her account, the GPS navigation was reduced to a small section of the screen while the driver was allegedly typing messages. She said the incident became particularly concerning when the car entered an underground expressway tunnel.
Passenger asks driver to concentrate on road
The passenger claimed the vehicle was travelling at around 60km/h to 70km/h and was positioned behind a large heavy vehicle inside the tunnel.
Concerned about the alleged phone use, she told the driver to “focus on driving”. She said she was particularly worried because the vehicle was following closely behind a heavy truck while travelling through a confined section of the road.
The woman also alleged that the navigation display being minimised resulted in a less efficient route, causing the journey to take longer than expected. However, she said the longer journey was not her main concern and that her priority was road safety.
Driver allegedly tells passenger to alight
The passenger claimed the driver reacted angrily after being asked to concentrate on driving. According to her account, he said he was only responding to a message from his daughter.
She alleged that the driver accused her of making an unnecessary issue out of the situation and became increasingly confrontational. In the recording shared online, the driver could reportedly be heard raising his voice during the exchange.
The passenger maintained that the driver had been texting while the car was moving. She also claimed he made remarks questioning whether she was “too precious” to be in his vehicle before allegedly telling her to get out if she was unhappy with the ride.
Questions raised over passenger safety
The passenger subsequently questioned whether a dashboard-mounted phone should allow a driver to actively read and type messages while the vehicle is moving.
She also raised concerns about what could happen if a passenger is asked to leave a vehicle inside an underground expressway tunnel, particularly in an area without an obvious pedestrian path or roadside shoulder.
Her concerns centred on three issues: whether active messaging while driving could constitute unsafe driving, whether asking a passenger to alight in a potentially dangerous location could create an additional safety issue, and how commuters should respond when they believe their driver is distracted.
Online reactions divided
The incident prompted mixed reactions from online users. Some commenters agreed with the passenger and argued that drivers should remain focused on the road throughout a journey.
Others appeared to take a more relaxed view of the alleged phone use, with some suggesting that briefly replying to a message did not necessarily mean the driver was driving dangerously.
One commenter also suggested that the passenger could lodge a report if she believed the driver had breached any rules, while questioning her decision to record the incident.
The allegations have not independently established what exactly occurred throughout the journey, and the online discussion largely centred on the broader issue of distracted driving and the responsibilities of both private-hire drivers and passengers when safety concerns arise.