Editorial: Taxi safety a matter for the industry

OPINION: Most people will have occasion to call a cabbie, whether once or twice a year in order to get to the airport, or regularly on Saturday mornings after taking in a skinful in one of Nelson's drinking establishments.

The Nelson services are largely reliable and well-run – even if cabs can sometimes seem thin on the ground in the small hours. The drivers, regardless of what colour shirt they are required to wear, are typically pleasant – although at times they face provocation no one should have to contend with. They know the streets and businesses in the region and what's going on. Compared with some dodgy-sounding operations that have made headlines over the years, especially in the larger centres, we appear reasonably well served.

Nelson does not have the gang and violence issues of some cities, although today's front page story does illustrate the perils of complacency when it comes to inner-city safety. And there are risks involved in running any after-hours business which deals with the public. Taxi drivers, who might be summoned any time and asked to travel almost anywhere, seem particularly vulnerable. Most regular drivers would have tales of being abused and threatened, of their cabs being damaged or thrown up in or of being victims of the drop `n' dash, where thieves give an address a block or so away from their true destination and scarper into the night without paying.

The slaying of an Auckland cabbie on Sunday is a reminder of the risks faced by taxi drivers in this country. A slim, dark-skinned man is thought to have hailed a cab in the central city. Minutes later, the cab crashed into a tree and its 39-year-old driver, Hiren Mohini, was found dying with severe stab wounds to his chest and neck – the victim of what police described as a frenzied attack. This was a horrific and mindless outrage, robbing a wife of her husband and two young girls of their father.

However, it is important to keep the tragedy in perspective. There are many thousands of cabs on our roads every day. Fortunately, murderous events like this remain rare, with the last of them 14 months ago. While it highlights the dangers, it also would pay to be mindful of the thousands of taxi jobs that are carried out every day without incident. The Government is now talking of a review of taxi safety and says it will consider mandatory measures that would both keep drivers safer and make apprehension easier following any criminal acts that might still occur. Any such action – including insisting that closed-circuit cameras or safety screens be installed – should not be at the expense of taxpayers.

Employers in the industry have obvious obligations to take reasonable measures to keep staff safe. If it is determined that screens, cameras and the like are necessary, then the initial expense should fall on the industry – which presumably would pass most of the costs on to users. Other small business owners who install safety measures do so as part of the usual running expenses. No doubt they would be delighted if the Government would pick up the tab – but that's not going to happen. The taxi industry should not expect preferential treatment.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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