Taxi Driver Online

Cab drivers demand zero tolerance

Taxi drivers have called for a zero tolerance approach to violent passengers after claiming 43 drivers have been killed in the past 15 years.

The National Taxi Association said soft police action emboldened fare dodgers to commit more violent crimes.

The chairman of the association, Norman Deegan, called for an increased use of CCTV in cabs to catch perpetrators.

The Association of Chief Police Officers said there was no national policy in place to tackle taxi crime.

A spokeswoman said: "It's a matter for local forces to work with taxi drivers."

Neither the Metropolitan Police or the Police Federation were available for comment.

Escalation of offences

Mr Deegan said he did recognise there were practical difficulties in protecting taxi drivers.

He said: "Obviously we understand the practicalities the police have, they can't ride shot-gun in every taxi, that wouldn't be possible."

But he said the police should take minor offences, such as fare dodging, more seriously.

He said: "The police seem to see it a bit like riding a bike at night without lights and direct them to the civil courts.

"What we're saying is that the reason why a lot of these people are so emboldened to attack a taxi driver is that they've escalated from not paying the fare."

Mr Deegan urged councils to take advantage of central government funding available for taxi firms to install CCTV cameras.

Mr Deegan said: "We would firstly like the councils to approach the Government for funding for the installation of closed circuit TVs in taxis.

"We'd also urge them to upgrade their own CCTV equipment focused on night-time taxi ranks so that if there is an incident in a taxi then it can be traced back."

Mr Deegan said he had collated the number of murders of taxi drivers through research into press cuttings.

Iron bar attack

Last week in Coventry, there was an alleged racist attack in which a driver was hit with an iron bar.

Alias Yousef, secretary of the city's Taxi Association, said late night taxi drivers did not always feel safe.

He said: "I think this is the time of night where you have to be very careful now, because you've got a lot of people that have been influenced with drink and drugs.

"They take it out on the taxi drivers as they're vulnerable."

Source: BBC News

I listened to this on Radio 5 this morning and as taxi stories go this was pretty accurate, and the reporter got the story over in a sensible way seldom seen in stories about our trade. So well done to all involved.

_________________
IDFIMH

Did you see this on the same page.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manc ... 959191.stm

Regards

JD

_________________
Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Maybe the likes of the NTA should also be pointing the finger not just at the scum, nor the police, but at councils that don't allow taxi/PH drivers to fit CCTV into their vehicles.

Those two-bob councils are complicit in many of those attacks and murders, and should hang their heads in shame.

_________________
IDFIMH

Mr Deegan said: "We would firstly like the councils to approach the Government for funding for the installation of closed circuit TVs in taxis.

"We'd also urge them to upgrade their own CCTV equipment focused on night-time taxi ranks so that if there is an incident in a taxi then it can be traced back."

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

Normally if any incident occurs round our way the police answer is always the cctv didn't see it but amazingly if anything happens to the police cctv always catches it or if theres a fight. But when a shop window gets smashed nowt when a taxi gets a dent in the door because of over zealous bouncers throwing people against it nowt when a drink driver scrapes the side of a taxi and then parks under the cctv camera for an hour there is no record on cctv of that car having been in town when a car parks for one and a half hours on a taxi rank cctv doesn't see it it's amazing how inefective these cctv systems are when it suits the police

Agree.

Mr Deegan is missing the point. His first priority should be to get the Govenment to override legislation which allows councillors to dictate what owners can place in their own cab with regard to their own safety. Perhaps once that is achieved he can then start screeming for public funding?

It's no good putting the cart before the horse.

Regards

JD

_________________
Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

_________________
Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

If I'm come across as having a pop at the NTA then I'm not.

It's just I wish they would ask me first before they do a press release on CCTV.

_________________
IDFIMH