Taxi Driver Online

Yes, the thread title is correct. Sort of

But, er, no thanks - this sounds a bit (pardon pun) like advising passengers to take photos of the driver. Only time I've ever been photographed is someone obviously doing it to intimidate

Of course, if it wasn't accessible to the passengers then might be different. And I mean, what kind of contraption and stickerage will this require for a panic button for passengers?

At least it's not mandatory...

And I'd forgotten about the Woverhampton angle with this lot until I got to the bottom of the piece. So another example of a degree of double standards about safety


Taxi panic switches set to be permitted in taxis

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62z4qdzp97o

Taxi drivers and passengers will soon be able to record audio in South Staffordshire cabs by pressing a "panic switch" under new measures to improve safety.

The local authority is set to allow CCTV with audio recording to be installed in cabs, following a consultation with taxi drivers and users last year.

It follows a number of assaults on drivers in recent years, including the manslaughter of Wolverhampton taxi driver Anakh Singh in October 2022.

South Staffordshire Council's licensing committee were recently asked to approve the CCTV policy permitting audio recording in taxis.

A consultation on the plans received 1,329 responses, with a report stating that 88% of respondents agreed audio recording would better protect passengers from drivers, and 96% agreeing it would better protect drivers.

A report to the committee said there had been "several high-profile assaults on licensed drivers" including the murder of Mohammed Istakhar in Solihull in November 2022, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said (LDRS).

In April 2024, a passenger also entered a taxi from Coventry Railway Station and demanded money and hit the driver in the neck and chest with a knife, it added.

"Given the risk to the council's drivers, the position on audio recording and its crime deterrent benefits has been reviewed, to provide greater protection to drivers from this type of attack," the report said.

Greg Bickerdike, licensing manager at City of Wolverhampton Council, which runs taxi licensing services on behalf of the district authority, said it was not a "mandatory requirement" but it would allow drivers to install the audio equipment.

"For the protection of them and passengers' privacy, there will be a switch the driver or passenger can turn on at any time," he explained.

"It's not just a one-way thing, it has to be accessible to both taxi passengers and drivers."