london uber voiceBlack cab drivers in London are to be trained to tackle the immediate aftermath of acid and terror attacks and other serious medical emergencies, it was announced today.
Taxi hailing app mytaxi has developed a free online and in-person training course to boost the "health, safety and people skills" of its 17,500 drivers in the capital.
The Knowledge+ programme, which builds on the tough taxi test 'The Knowledge', includes life-saving techniques such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use a defibrillator.
There are also plans to fit some cabs with defibrillators, a spokesperson for mytaxi confirmed.
The training will cover acid attacks, terror attacks, and certain types of medical emergency
Volunteers will also be taught how to deal with emergencies such as acid attacks, choking, strokes and severe bleeding.
St John Ambulance, which is supporting the course, has created a series of first aid training videos accessible to drivers via an online hub. Group training is scheduled to take place in January 2018.
London's black cab drivers will be trained to use a defibrillator, do CPR and deal with acid attacks
Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, will advise on counter-terrorism and security training, while a psychologist will provide body language tips in a bid to help drivers put passengers at ease by reading situations more easily.
Both will deliver training to large group sessions also taking place in January, while psychologist and cognitive therapist Dr Becky Spelman is due to release online training videos in the next two weeks.
Terror: Cabbies will be trained to respond to terror such as the attack on Parliament and Westminster Bridge(Darren Staples/Reuters)
Drivers will be trained in how to respond to terror situations such as the Westminster attack - how to properly alert the authorities, for example.
Mytaxi commissioned a survey of more than 1,300 cab drivers which revealed they are increasingly standing in for the emergency services and facing dangerous situations.
More than two-thirds (71 per cent) have made hospital trips for passengers with serious medical issues such as burst appendices and broken ankles, while 7 per cent have specifically experienced a passenger having a stroke or heart attack.
One driver had a passenger who had been shot in the stomach, while another picked up a young woman whose drink had been spiked with a date-rape drug.
Fourteen said women had given birth in their cabs.
Michelle Kerrigan, national partnerships manager for St John Ambulance said: "Taxi drivers are increasingly first on the scene in an emergency, and we know that administering first aid in those crucial first few minutes can be the difference between life and death."
Nearly one in four (24 per cent) drivers have come to the aid of the public in a terrorist incident, according to the poll.
One witnessed the London Bridge attack in June and took a group of women to safety before returning to help others.
He said: "(I) found three terrified girls who had been in the Wheatsheaf (pub) when the attackers were smashing the windows in ... Got them all home safely and returned to ferry others away from the area."
Mr Phillips said London faces threats from terrorism which are "changing at an unprecedented pace".
He went on: "You can pretty much guarantee that whatever incident happens in London, a black cab will be at the scene or nearby. Professionalising their response is a brilliant way to help keep Londoners safe."
Andy Batty, UK general manager at mytaxi, said: "The Knowledge+ will build on the world's most respected taxi training course by equipping thousands of London black cab drivers with a series of essential new skills.
"The initiative will have input from health, crisis and body language experts with the ambition of becoming an industry benchmark for training excellence."
All training is free to mytaxi drivers. Companies involved have sponsored the training.
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