April 26, 2008
Abused, spat on and assaulted: it’s all part of the job for cabbies
ONE in three taxi drivers has been assaulted while at work, research commissioned by the Scottish Government has found.
Figures show that 88% of drivers have experienced a verbal attack from a member of the public, with almost one-third (31%) being physically assaulted, attacked or spat at within the past 12 months.
Drivers are frequently seeing their cars pelted with bricks, rocks, food and other missiles, with aggressive customers a common threat.
Over one-quarter of drivers said they experienced aggression or abuse on a weekly basis, with one-fifth reporting problems two to three times a week.
advertisement
Yesterday, a campaign was launched in Glasgow to urge drivers to report both verbal and physical abuse.
Robert Dunabie, secretary of the Scottish Taxi Federation, said: "These abusive incidents are unfortunately all too common in the taxi industry, primarily due to the nature of the job.
"Taxi drivers are extremely vulnerable to abuse, particularly as they work alone.
"The majority of customers are pleasant and civil but aggression and violence usually goes hand in hand with alcohol."
Glasgow Taxis - which represents about 1000 drivers in the city - estimated that around nine out of 10 abusive incidents were linked to alcohol.
Terry Devine, executive member of the association, said that the introduction of the city's night zone - which sees late-night taxi queues chaperoned by wardens - had helped to improve working conditions for drivers. CCTV may also be introduced to Glasgow Taxis' vehicles in a bid to bolster safety, Mr Devine added.
"When a taxi driver gets into a cab himself, and there are two to three people in the back being abusive and giving out verbal threats, he doesn't stand a chance.
"We ask drivers to ignore the threats and try to appease the person. The customer is going to be in the taxi for 20 or 30 minutes and we encourage drivers to try to defuse the situation. Now we are asking them to come back and report the incident to us, so that we can compile a dossier, or go to the police."
Mr Devine said there was a reluctance to report incidents because of the time it takes to be seen at a police station.
"You are out on a Friday or a Saturday night and you are being abused, but you don't have time to go to the police. It's sad really but many taxi drivers just put up with it. But that is how the abuse will continue," Mr Devine said.
Research showed that 69% of drivers in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee did not report abuse. More than one-third (37%) felt there was no point, with one-fifth describing it as "part of the job".
The study was carried out as part of the Scottish Government's Violence and Work campaign, which aims to drive home the message that abuse at work is a crime and should not be tolerated.
It was also established during the course of the research that a taxi driver was threatened in Edinburgh by a customer who could not pay his fare, while a driver in Dundee was injured after being hit by a glass bottle thrown into his cab. In Glasgow, a driver was throttled by a passenger who was sick in the back of his taxi.
I get verbally threatened at least once every weekend'
THIRTEEN years as a black cab driver in Glasgow has taken its toll on Allan Kelly. After being abused, threatened and intimidated by passengers on a regular basis, he plans to give up his job later this year.
Mr Kelly, 46, from Giffnock, said: "You name it, I've had it. The most disgusting thing is being spat at and you would be surprised how often that happens.
"I get verbally attacked at least once every weekend, sometimes more, and occasionally that can lead to violence. I have had people try to punch me through the partition. Some weekends are worse than others. When there is a big football match on, I contemplate not going out because you know there is going to be trouble."
He described the abuse as "part of the job" but added that it had not become worse over his time as a driver.
"It hasn't really changed much, but I have changed. I just don't want to have to put up with it any more."
He said that alcohol was the cause of the trouble "around 95% of the time".
"What people don't realise is that it is not just alcohol any more. It is the drugs as well. You see people coming into the cab and they are wired to the moon.
"You know they will probably fall asleep and that is the fear, because then you have to get out of your cab and try to move them out of the back. That is when things can get really dangerous." Mr Kelly said that, as well as the threats he has received, his taxi is also attacked on a regular basis.
"I take quite a bit of abuse myself, but the taxi also takes its share. People are sick in it quite a lot, and I have had everything hurled at me from boiled eggs, to kebabs and broken bottles, bricks and stones. My windscreen has been smashed, that is both dangerous and very expensive.
"Sometimes I hate going to work. It is my worst nightmare some days."
Filed under Blog by admin
