15 Feb 2008
Southport taxi driver says he works in constant fear of attack from drunk passengers
TAXI drivers serving Southport’s nightlife are in constant fear of attack
from alcohol-fuelled passengers, a driver has claimed.
James Johnson was stamped on in his cab during an attack for which
28-year-old Gary Rodwell, from Belmont Street, was sentenced last Friday.
He has now branded Rodwell’s sentence of 200 hours unpaid work “a joke”
and has highlighted what he says is a pervasive fear of violence in his trade.
“It’s a risky job and working nights is probably the worst,” Mr Johnson, a
56-year-old from Southport, told the Visiter.
“Having potentially violent males in the car can be a very frightening
situation to be in.
“Middle-aged drunk men who are aggressive appear to be the worst.
“There’s a risk every time someone gets in the car.”
An engineer by profession, Mr Johnson started working as a private hire
driver in November because of the need to support his family.
“I was quite happy doing the job, you are your own boss and can work
when you want,” he said.
But since he was assaulted on January 20 – after he had driven Rodwell
home after a night of drinking in the town – Mr Johnson’s opinion has changed.
North Sefton Magistrates’ Court heard how Rodwell’s kicks followed a
dispute in the taxi soon after 5am and that the defendant later punched a
policeman while resisting arrest.
Alongside his sentence of a community order with unpaid work, Rodwell
will have to pay £265 in compensation and costs.
Mr Johnson said he believed Rodwell deserved prison – an option rejected
by magistrates because of his early guilty plea.
“Two hundred hours community service is a joke. There’s a problem with
aggression due to alcohol and public workers like those in health, police
and taxi drivers bear the brunt,” he added.
Opinion divided
OPINIONS are divided in Southport’s taxi trade about the scale of the
threat to drivers.
The Southport Visiter heard two opposing views from the local industry
following the attack on Central Cabs driver James Johnson.
Tony Crabtree, secretary of North Sefton Hackney Carriage Association,
pictured, started taxi driving in 1959 and feels there is a significant danger.
“You never know when the problems are going to start,” he said.
Mr Crabtree, a Churchtown resident, said the problem of ‘runners’ making
off without paying is so severe he often asks strangers for cash up-front.
But that can also spark trouble, such as when a drunken man reacted by
ripping the taxi sign from Mr Crabtree’s vehicle’s roof.
He has also been kicked in the ribs and had his back door ripped off
during incidents in recent years.
However, Mr Crabtree pointed to the advent of taxi marshals on weekend
nights as cutting the confrontation at town centre ranks.
A more positive depiction of conditions in the town’s cab trade was
provided by Adrian Hughes, a co-director of Eastbank Street’s All White Taxis.
He said that with more than 400 drivers employed in Southport, cases of
violence must be kept in perspective.
Mr Hughes said: “In the five years we have been running this business we
have had a maximum of three incidents, which out of the total number of
jobs we have done is a nominal amount.”
He also said he had never been assaulted during 20 years’ experience of
driving nights and “all taxi companies have a procedure if one of their
drivers is in trouble”.
He added: “The police have been a great help– it’s comforting to know
they are out there.”
Source: icSeftonandWestLancs
Related TDO Topic(s): Southport Man Escapes Jail for Assaulting Cabbie and Officer
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