Another taxi bursts into flames, second such incident in two weeks

Two taxis catching fire in two weeks is too close for comfort.

So taxi company ComfortDelGro will conduct a check on their taxis to find the cause and prevent future incidents.

The vehicle’s Korean manufacturer will also dispatch an expert to investigate the cause of the fires.

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The measures were announced after a taxi caught fire along the Pan-Island Expressway on Tuesday afternoon (8 May).

A female cabby was driving towards Changi Airport near the old Police Academy when she noticed white smoke coming out of the bonnet of her Hyundai Sonata taxi.

She stopped her vehicle along the road shoulder and noticed flames coming out of the bonnet. Civil defence officers arrived and put out the fire in 10 minutes.

This is the second such incident in a fortnight involving a ComfortDelGro taxi.

On 24 April, a taxi – also a Hyundai Sonata – caught fire in the Central Expressway tunnel near Kampong Java, causing a massive jam. The cabby and his passengers escaped unhurt.

“We are very concerned about the safety of our drivers and their passengers,” a ComfortDelGro spokeswoman said in a statement. “And given that this is the second such incident in recent weeks involving our Sonata taxis, we are doubling up efforts to make sure we pin point the cause.”

She added that the company is looking at several explanations for the incidents, including a short circuit.

A specialist from the South Korea will be flown to Singapore by the end of the month to help in the probe.

Speaking to inSing News, a spokesman for Komoco Motors, Hyundai’s dealer in Singapore, said its engineers here will first carry out tests on some Sonata taxis.

“We will carry out random inspections of taxis that have already clocked a high mileage,” said the spokesman.

When asked if the private owners of the Hyundai Sonata should be concerned, the spokesman said that for now, the problem seemed to affect only taxis, which are fuelled by diesel.

The 5,000 or so private Sonatas run on petrol.

“We have had no incident (report) of petrol engine Sonata catching fire,” he added.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: http://news.insing.com/tabloid/2nd-cab-burst-into-flames/id-36473f00
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