Taxi drivers must be civil

I refer to the letter headlined 'Taxi driver's rudeness damaging and upsetting' (South China Morning Post, May 12) and regret that your reader had such an unpleasant experience.

Most of the taxis in Hong Kong have been installed with an 'auto-door' device to enable the driver to open or close the left-side rear door by pulling a handle next to him.

However, this device does not work in the case of the left-side front door or the right-side rear door.

I am not sure if the restricted application of the device caused the incident.

Under the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations (Cap 374), a taxi driver is obliged to behave in a civil manner.

A driver is liable on conviction to a fine of $3,000 and six months' imprisonment for failing to comply with this legal requirement.