Taxi Driver Online

March 21, 2007 Wednesday

Terror in the back of a cab

Worcester News

A TAXI driver who was beaten up by four passengers in a frenzied, premeditated attack has vowed never to work as a cabbie again.

Mr Miah, who refused to tell us his full name for fear of retribution, had the glass panel of his cab smashed and was punched repeatedly in the back of the head after he picked up customers in Worcester late on Saturday. The cabbie, who lives in the Arboretum, Worcester, spent Sunday in hospital following the attack, which happened after he was lured into the quiet cul-de-sac in the Spring Lane Industrial Estate in Malvern Link.

He said. "They just went for me. They were like barbaric animals. I was so scared. I do not want any other taxi driver to ever have to go through what I did."

Mr Miah, a father of two, has driven a black cab for three years but has vowed never to sit behind the wheel of a taxi again.

Just before midnight he picked up two men from Worcester city centre who wanted to go to Great Malvern but when they got to Link Top, Malvern, they told him to stop.

He said: "Suddenly the doors opened and two more got in. They told me to take them to the snooker club down the Spring Lane Industrial Estate. When we got there everything was shut. It was dark. There was nobody around.

"When we got to the end of this cul-de-sac they just started kicking and punching the protection screen. I was so frightened. I had no idea what was going on."

With only the thin protective screen separating Mr Miah from the four men, he decided to drive to the main road to attract attention.

"All I could think was I needed to get to the main road where people could see me. But then the glass broke and they started to punch me on the back on the head. I knew I couldn't carry on driving."

Mr Miah reached the Worcester Road and a passing taxi driver was able to intervene. The police were called but the four men, all believed to be in their early 20s, ran down Duke of Edinburgh Way and escaped.

Mr Miah said it was going to cost him £500 to get the car repaired.

Anne Murphy, secretary of the Worcester Taxi Drivers' Association, said the attack was symptomatic of an alarming increase in the number of attacks on cabbies in recent years.

Miss Murphy knows drivers who have been beaten up, stabbed, spat at and racially abused. She said: "I think it's so sad. No one should be assaulted when they're doing a job. A driver should not be subjected to this kind of violence.

"It is just a minority who behave in this awful way. "I hardly do more than a couple of hours without being subjected to abuse.

"In Worcester racist comments are frequently made and sexist comments - at least 80 per cent of the people who get in my car feel it necessary to comment on the fact that I'm a woman."
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IDFIMH

This problem is not going to go away, Thurs 22nd 2007 a driver and his passenger in Merthyr Tydfil were blocked by approx 20 teens. They were then punched and the driver suffered a hairline fracture of the eye socket, a black eye, split lip and a bloody nose. The passenger suffered a cut eye and broken glasses. His car had £1500/ £2000 damage and about £200 in takings went missing.

But in fairness to the police they caught three of them and really dished out some justice. This was after they had been processed for assault and damage.

Yep! they gave them a reprimand/caution, Umm apparently as they had not been in trouble before they fitted the criteria for a reprimand. Now what more could you ask for

I believe more and more that CCTV needs to come into our cars/cabs, is there a list of approved suppliers with competitive rates?

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

Oh yeah great fit cctv and then when they catch em they can reprimand em, oh and if by chance its there second offence they might get 10 hours community service if your lucky, Not having a dig at cctv here its a very useful tool but the punishment really does have to fit the crime

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Legal and proud

Loads a love from BERTIE !!

I suppose if the cabby driver has friends then the addresses of the scum might be useful, but of course that's not the right thing to do.

As for CCTV I'm quite a fan. Yes it helps if the police/courts actually give out proper sentences, but without CCTV many scumbags get away.

And from my experience a CCTV image shown at court helps out a million times better than just a statement.

Also it's worth remembering that CCTV can also be a huge aid, some may say saviour, if one is being accused of doing something to a punter.

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IDFIMH

I think some folks have come up with an answer.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/ ... eading.php

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IDFIMH

Fit CCTV in the cabs it will make them a target just to nick the CCTV equipment

I think IMO the biggest benefit of CCTV isn't just to deter the scum, but to back up the driver should they be accused of any wrong doing.

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IDFIMH