HEALTH RISKS
Ms Carmen Ortega has been a Grab driver for 10 years, and on some weekends drives up to 15 hours a day.
The 38-year-old told CNA she has high cholesterol levels, which she believes to be due to her regular consumption of coffee to stay awake during shifts.
She also has chronic pains on her back and neck, from a combination of car accidents and having to carry heavy luggage for passengers.
But Ms Ortega slogs on to earn a living for herself and her ageing parents.
“There is a kind of pressure I give myself … When you are self-employed, every hour you work, you will confirm get paid,” she said.
“If I don’t go and work now and go and play, I’ll lose out on this money.
“It’s an internal pressure, that if I take a break to do something else, I will feel guilty,” she added.
But Mr Neo’s untimely death, on top of similar incidents over the years, has served as a “wake-up call” to her.
“I have two elderly parents and I am the only child, if anything happens to me it’s my parents (who suffer), not me,” said Ms Ortega.
She has been vocal about private-hire driver issues on her Instagram page @confessionsofagrabdriver, and posted about Mr Neo’s death and his family’s situation, calling for donations.
Also deeply affected by Mr Neo’s death was private-hire driver Ishwar Mahtani.
The 63-year-old has had a close shave before, having had a heart attack in 2010 while in his previous job as a business owner.
He held on to that experience when approaching the driving job he has now held for the past eight years.
For one, his working hours are strictly from 10am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, and weekends are off.
“To each his own, but if you have a family and children, then you need to prioritise your time,” he said.
“This case should make drivers take a step back and figure out if this is what they really want.
“Because I can make S$10,000 (a month), but if S$5,000 I give to a doctor, there’s no point right?”
Mr Ishwar still winds up utterly exhausted after a day of driving.
“When I go home, I always tell my family to leave me alone for at least one to two hours, because you are so tired,” he said.
But he makes sure to find time to exercise, doing an hour of brisk walking three times a week, as part of lessons learnt from his heart attack.
“(Previously) my lifestyle was sedentary, my lack of (healthy) diet and lack of exercise,” he said.
