COMPANY NEWS

IS LPG SAFE AS A FUEL?

Article provided by Taxi Cab News

According to a recent report from the Philippines, Filipino taxi drivers have raised concerns over the use of LPG, many calling LPG the silent killer. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) fuel is used to run most taxis in the Philippines. The stories come from the taxi drivers themselves who either drive or used to drive LPG fuelled taxis. According to the report the death toll on the Filipino taxi drivers goes by without any alarm being sounded. There are no publicly known statistics in the Philippines about LPG fuel related deaths and hospitalisations among taxi drivers. But the talk goes on, among the riding public, the taxi drivers themselves, and the hospitals where the taxi drivers of LPG fuelled taxis have died of respiratory ailments after driving LPG taxis. The information gathered of the symptoms suffered is from the taxi drivers themselves, which include dry throat, extreme thirst, rough and itchy skin, dry eyes, dry nasal passages, headaches, the driver falling asleep easily when his taxi is in queue, weight loss, and a persistent cough that, for some, leads to a deathly kind of coughing. These symptoms may appear for some drivers, particularly when the LPG-fuelled taxis are not well maintained and are old. According to the report some taxi drivers who are enjoying the big profit margins generated by their LPG fuelled taxis are in denial about the ill effects of LPG, while others who have tasted the insidious claws of driving using LPG have altogether abandoned driving LPG fuelled taxis and have returned to driving gasoline or diesel fuelled taxis, that is, if they are fortunate enough to find operators who still have gasoline or diesel fuelled vehicles. Not only are the taxi drivers affected but also the passengers. Although the ride for the traveller may be brief, the passengers nonetheless gets subjected to the toxic fumes of a taxi that is ill maintained and is run on LPG. Multiply this toxic effect on passengers on a daily basis or over number of days in a week, week after week and the effect could be devastating.