Accidents involving car-sharing vehicles: Customers complain of poor maintenance but experts say drivers are likely to blame

SINGAPORE — Mr Ahmad Syatibi books a car-sharing vehicle once or twice every month to run errands but while he finds such cars convenient, the university undergraduate has become increasingly concerned about the cleanliness and maintenance of such vehicles.

Last year, another viral video showed a BlueSG car crashing into a road divider, though no injuries were reported.Road safety experts and academics whom TODAY spoke to said that more critical studies are needed to understand the effects of car-sharing on road safety in Singapore, but at least one expert said there is evidence based on studies overseas that car-sharing does indeed cause more traffic accidents.

"For example, someone can use another person’s account to drive even if they don’t have a license. I haven’t heard of this happening, but there isn't any technology for car-sharing companies to check who is driving at the wheel,” said Dr Bansal. Such cars have to undergo an inspection every two years for cars more than three years old and annual inspection for cars that are more than 10 years old.

“Car-sharing vehicles are used more than privately owned vehicles, and they are also more prominent because they are branded by the car-sharing operator. This means that their accidents are more likely to make it to social media and the news, which gives us the impression that they are more involved in accidents. But only the insurers will know if they are in fact more risky,” he said.

However, he added, it is “harsh” to attribute the lack of maintenance to car-sharing companies as they do adhere to general maintenance practices. “Most of our hosts list their own cars on our platform as a means to get additional income. Therefore, the cars are clean, well-maintained, and taken care of since it is in the owners’ best interest as they also use the cars personally,” said Drivelah's head of marketing Ms Bavani Srinu.

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