Most drivers of public buses display careful and courteous behaviour on the road.

The same, however, cannot be said of taxi drivers.

For instance, many of them fail to use the turn signal to indicate their intention to change lanes or negotiate turns.

Some even exhibit deplorable road behaviour, such as driving aggressively and changing lanes abruptly without signalling.

Could it be that being on the road for so many hours a day makes signalling a cumbersome and annoyingly repetitive action?

But that should not be the case when it comes to road safety. Besides, if bus drivers can faithfully do it, why not cabbies?

I have been in taxis where the cabbies do signal, and signal early, and are very polite road users. But they are the minority.

I attribute the good habits of bus drivers to the training they must go through, and call upon taxi companies to do the same for their drivers.

This is also important, as taxi drivers are among the first people that visitors to Singapore meet, and first impressions do count.

Ken Seah Thiam Hock