Updated 16 August 2017 – LTA files Police Report against man providing illegal decal modification
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has lodged an official police report against the man peddling illegal decal modification services on Carousell.
Firstlane had earlier reported the sighting of the product listing on Carousell and was shared by many members of our community. The seller was charging private-hire drivers a fee of $30 for modifiying the car decal so that there would be no VOID word appearing when the decal is tempered with.
When we last checked, the post has been taken down but the seller is still an active Carousell seller providing an array of services such as renovation, fengshui consultation, wooing former boyfriends and girlfriends.
All services listing were removed at time of posting
We would like to remind all private-hire drivers not to take the risk as the penalty is hefty and not worth the risk.
The latest disruptor in our disruptive private-hire industry is here with a new product. Introducing the PDVL Removable Sticker made for private-hire drivers.
Priced at $30, this product is put up for sale on Carousell, targeted at private-hire drivers who are ashamed of having the decal on their front and rear windscreen but yet not willing to give up driving private-hire.
Ultimately its still a source of income for them, but there is a group of drivers prefer not to be seen as private hire drivers.
The Seller claims that they can help Private-Hire Drivers modify their tamper-proof PDVL decal to become removable, without seeing the void wordings. Car owners can remove and paste back easily.
Instead of receiving lots of ‘likes’ for the innovation, the Seller got blasted by other users who seem like private-hire drivers themselves.
Why do Private-Hire Drivers want to remove the decal
Ashamed of being recognized as an Uber/Grab Driver by their friends and family. Before the PDVL framework kicked in on 1 July 2017, many drivers boasted of driving a brand new car or luxury sedan likes BMW and Mercedes to their friends. After the decal requirement started, they were embarrassed to let those people know that their cars were rented and they are driving for Uber/Grab as a driver to pay off the weekly rental fees.
Many tried ways to cover the decal with stickers or tint their windows to make it less obvious. This led to innovators like this Seller to come by and make money from these group of helpless drivers.
Penalties for driving without a valid/ void PDVL decal
Thinking of getting a removable PDVL decal? Think very carefully and say No to it.
Those who do not display the decals or attempt to tamper with it is an offence under the Road Traffic Act.
First-time offenders could be fined up to $1,000, imprisoned for up to 3 months or both. Repeat offenders could be fined up to $2000 and jailed up to 6 months. The offender’s Private Hire Car Vocational Licence (PDVL) is likely to be revoked under these circumstances.
