Taxi Driver Online

This one was paywalled on the Bradford Telegraph & Argus. But it's not paywalled on what seems to be a sister title reproducing the same pieces under the title Asian Image

Anyway, this guy's certainly been through the wars

And there's an interesting point about Uber near the end, which could have perhaps been explored in more detail.

I think he's maybe alluding to the fact that Uber driver's don't carry cash. Of course, that's a good point as regards robberies, but not clear why that might make drivers any safer as regards the kind of stuff below.

There seems to be some kind of video available via the link, but life's too short to wait on that loading while three hundred other unrelated videos seem to load on the same page easily enough


Taxi driver's lucy escape after large rock thrown at car

https://www.asianimage.co.uk/news/26464 ... hrown-car/

A taxi driver had a narrow escape when a rock was hurled through his car window, narrowly missing his head.



Aftab Shah was carrying a passenger from Bradford Interchange when the incident occurred on Halifax Road, Bradford shortly after 12.30am on Monday, July 27.

Dashcam footage captured the moment the rock smashed through the window, narrowly missing his neck and leaving him shaken.

He said: "Honestly, I got the shock of my life.

"I thought 'what's happened?' because I hadn't crashed into anybody or anything.

"The rock missed me by maybe a couple of inches."



Mr Shah explained he saw something in the middle of the road prior to the incident, which he believes indicates that the act was premeditated.

He said: "I think they purposely must have thrown something in the road.

"It was a fluorescent pipe or something.

"As soon as I went over it, that's when the rock came through."

Previous incident left driver with 60 stitches

Mr Shah said the incident was especially distressing as he had previously survived a life-threatening attack while working as a taxi driver in Woodhouse two decades ago.

He said: "My throat was slashed whilst driving a taxi in Leeds and I've got 60 stiches in my throat.

"The police officer who came to the scene got an award for saving my life.

"One of the paramedics actually passed out when he saw the blood.

"I gave the job up for a very long time."

He had only recently returned to taxi driving, mostly avoiding late-night jobs, but agreed to work on this occasion.

The previous experience was fresh in his mind as the incident unfolded.



He said: "I felt vulnerable because of what happened in the past.

"I kept on driving a little bit further up the road because I thought if I stopped there, somebody might do something else."

He eventually stopped and called the police but said it took around 30 minutes for officers to arrive.

He said: "In that time, honestly, I couldn't move from the car.

"I'm sat in the car looking all around me thinking, is somebody else going to come and get me?

"It makes me wonder, why am I still doing this job?" he said.

"I was terrified."

West Yorkshire Police confirmed they had received a report relating to the incident.

Driver safety concerns raised

Mr Shah believes the incident reflects wider safety concerns faced by drivers in Bradford.

He recalled a similar incident last year when a group of youths threw stones at his vehicle, forcing him to alter a customer's journey.

He said: "I picked the customer up and said, 'I'm sorry, I'm going to have to take a different route because there's a group of lads there throwing pebbles.'"

He also described being subjected to abuse from passengers and said some drivers feel they are regularly targeted.

"There are so many incidents that are not getting reported by drivers," he said.

"Taxi drivers seem to be in the limelight for some reason."

Reflecting on his years in the trade, Mr Shah said the nature of the risks facing drivers had changed.

In the past, he said, drivers were often targeted because they carried cash.

However, he said there appeared to be no obvious motive behind the attack he suffered in Woodhouse 20 years ago.

He said: "When I was attacked there were no demands, no threats, nothing at all.

"As soon as I pulled up, they just attacked me."

"You shouldn't be scared for your life all the time."

Mr Shah said he had hoped the rise of app-based services would make the job safer.

He said: "It's taken me two decades to come back, thinking with Uber it would be a little bit safer.

"It seems to have gone the other way now."

He said the incidents had changed the way he works.

He said: "When I'm driving in the evenings, I keep the doors locked and I never stop anywhere.

"I'm always thinking if I stop, there might be somebody around the corner.

"In this day and age, I don't think it should be like this.

"You shouldn't be scared for your life all the time."

The fella has definitely been through the wars.

The vast majority of attacks on taxi/PH drivers have nothing to do with stealing money; they're more down to plain thuggery.

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IDFIMH