Cat A and Cat B COEs down in February's First Bidding Exercise

The following piece of advice is not going to be pleasing to us motorists: According to lawyers who act for insurers, parties who got into accidents involving private-hire cars operated by companies such as Uber and Grab tend to have a harder time settling their claims. Over the last three years, the number of private-hire cars on Singapore roads has more than tripled to approximately 51,000, and these vehicles are involved in accidents more frequently than other passenger car. According to estimates by major insurers that provide coverage for them, the likelihood for private-hire cars to get into accidents are 30 to 50 percent higher. A.K. Cher, the President of General Insurance Association, said: "These cars are on the road longer than the normal passenger car. Many of them are also driven by very young and inexperienced drivers. And they also rely heavily on their mobile devices for navigation, so (the drivers) can be distracted." Such concerns are not unfounded. Accordingly to figures provided by an insurer vying for Lion City's business, the number of cars under Uber-owned Lion City Rentals grew exponentially from 1,412 last February to 8,676 in November. In the same period, over 2,100 accidents were registered by these vehicles. Close to $10 million in claims were incurred. An underwriter of that insurer said: "It is hard to gauge its accident rate because the fleet has grown so fast. But assuming an average of 5,000 (cars in the fleet), it would translate to a ratio of 40 per cent." The accident rate for taxis and commercial vehicles is around 40% as well.  Whilst Uber declined to comment on the trend, lawyers acting for insurers revealed that they are seeing more cases involving private-hire cars, and claims involving such cases tend to be harder to settle.  According to the law, all private-hire cars must be insured. Their premiums are also higher, a reflection of their risk exposure. Mr Patrick Yeo, a partner at Withers KhattarWong, told The Straits Times that his firm had once took up an injury claims case in which the private-hire driver was actually underage and therefore uninsured. Mr Yeo explained: "In a case of an uninsured private-hire car driver, the damage to the cars involved is also (deemed) uninsured. The owner of the car damaged by the private-hire car will have no recourse against the insurers of the private-hire car. They would have to sue the driver or owner of the private-hire car directly."  Mr Yeo cited another case in which a Grab driver was not covered by the insurance policy because he had accumulated less than two years of driving experience, which is the minimum period stipulated in the insurance policy. Mr Anthony Chey, a partner at RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, shared a case in which a pedestrian was knocked down by an Uber car at a pedestrian crossing in 2015. He said: "The case appeared simple enough as liability was clearly against the vehicle driver. Along the way, I learnt that... the case was delayed because of some policy issues regarding the insurance coverage. The claim, which should have been settled within three months, ended up taking 11 months."  As a rule of thumb, motorists involved in a road accident, however minor, should request for details of the other party's identity card.

Call it a custom, or whatever you like. But BMW, somehow, has a long-standing affiliation with the definition of success. It is this closely-forged relationship that made the German automobile maker the natural choice as the "Official Luxury Motor Vehicle” for the SMBC Singapore Open 2017, a highly-prestigious golfing tournament that took place at the Sentosa Golf Club last month from the 19th to the 22th. BMW certainly added a strong touch of glamour to the sporting event. Top golfers including the world’s current number seven and three-time champion, Adam Scott and this year’s tournament winner, Prayad Marksaeng, were all chauffeured around in the latest BMW 7 Series. On top of it, Performance Motors, the official distributor of BMWs, set up a golf simulator at the fan village booth, offering spectators and visitors the opportunity to take a swing and show some golfing DNA in the name of fun. Refreshments were also provided at the BMW hospitality suite for the spectators to rest or take shelter from the sun.    Mr. Horst Herdtle, the Managing Director of Performance Motors, was delighted at the fact that the collaboration is not BMW's first. He said: “Performance Motors is delighted to continue our partnership with SMBC Singapore Open, which boasts a strong following of golf fans from Singapore and around the region. We are honoured to provide the professional golfers and VIP guests with the highest levels of comfort, luxury and safety with our newest fleet of BMW 7 Series luxury limousines.”  Chauffering was certainly not the only cards on BMW's deck duirng the tournament. Mr. Horst Herdtle added: “We have also hosted our top customers who are avid golfers at our suite located at the hospitality pavilion as a token of appreciation for their continuous loyalty and support. This is one of many initiatives that set us apart from the rest and we will continue to value add and bring new experiences to our customers in Singapore.”  Jointly organised by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO), the 51st edition of the SMBC Singapore Open saw the participation of top notch golfers from around the world. Thai professional golfer Prayad Marksaeng clinched gold with a final round four-under-par 67 to lift his 10th Asian Tour title.

Drivers who work for transport operators like Uber and Grab are not going to have things easy. The recent amendments to the Road Traffic Act (RTA), which were passed in Parliament on 7 February stipulate that every private-hire driver is required to obtain a vocational licence before he or she can pick passengers up.  The law also states that operators can be fined up to $10,000 if they fail to ensure that their drivers are licensed, and suspended for up to one month if their drivers flout the rules three or more times in a year.  Also, private-hire drivers will have to display a decal that clearly identifies their vehicle as a private-hire vehicle, and have their vehicles registered with the Land Transport Authority (LTA). This requirement will kick in by the middle of this year.  The slew of measures were first made known to the public at the Ministry of Transport’s (MOT) Committee of Supply debate that was held in April last year. Then, Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng announced that that private-hire car drivers will need to apply for a Private Hire Car Vocational Licence (PDVL). To obtain the PDVL, the applicant must hold at least two years of driving experience and go through a 10-hour course. Those who are Singapore citizens must be registered owners of a chauffeured-services company, or employed by a limousine company. After obtaining the PDVL, the drivers will be subject to a demerit point system, much like how taxi drivers are regulated. In addressing the Parliament on the safety of passengers and other road-users, Mr Ng said: “Our regulations are not overly onerous. Service operators like Uber and Grab will agree that these are necessary for the interest of commuters."