David Pollack was able to speak with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly on behalf of yellow taxi drivers and the Committee for Taxi Safety regarding ILLEGAL STREET HAILS. He will write a follow-up article on the illegal street hail issue and NYPD in the future. 
But for now, drivers have something else to celebrate. Finally taxi drivers will have the same protection that bus drivers and train conductors have throughout the state. The New York State Assembly and Senate has passed the DRIVERS PROTECTION ACT. This bill, will classify assaults on taxi drivers as felonies with penalties of up to 25 years in jail. (See new law at end of story.) Drivers can now be less fearful of those passengers who have preyed on drivers without concern of any repercussions for their harmful actions
Assemblyman Rory Lancman is chairman of the Assembly Subcommittee on Workplace Safety and author of the Taxi Driver Protection Act. “Taxi driv- ers are thirty times more likely to be killed on the job than other workers, and New York City houses the largest taxi driver industry in the nation.” “These men and women bravely perform a vital service for our state and they deserve our respect and protection. It is time to pass the Taxi Driver Protection Act and make assaulting a taxi driver a felony.” Assembly- man Lancman told me in Albany, that the part of the law he likes the best, is the sign that will be required inside every yellow cab stating: “WARNING: ASSAULTING A TAXI DRIVER IS PUNISHABLE BY UP TO TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN PRISON”
Read More @ 
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot...
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Good work, but drivers need more protection other than a warning sticker and a partition in their cab! For improved safety and security, we need Cab Security Camera, whether is a garage (fleet) cab or private! It is a wrong safety standard, in some cabs have huge space inside, and in the smaller Hybrid Taxi, riders are like a canned sardine in the cab.
RadioFree, How many times I told you, security camera saves no life, it finds out who killed you. If you must drive small hybrid, live with it. If you are too big to drive one, drive an Escape or something else. I think the small hybrids will FADE.
I am not against the partition, but most of the new cabs are not designed for partitions or L-Shape. There is a lot greater chance get killed or injured from an accident, not from passengers, specially these days when most riders paying with NO CASH! Do speedy cabbies thinking about SAFETY?
What a joke. This is just to shut us up. This act will never be executed to the fullest. Resently, two black females took my cab to the Speringfield blvd at 5:25am from JFK. The meter reads 19.30 + 1.00 they gave me $20 and asked for change. When I called police, both females used foul language in from of cops towards me and police officers. These females jesticulated touching me = assault and insult in my book, but when I asked cops to arrest them, when I said that I am pressing charges – cops did absolutely nothing, took 30 cents from the passengers and left. Justice in works
– none exists while you drive yellow trademark of NYC
To @Man! Something about the tips! – At least you got paid, many times cabbies do not get paid! Fare jumps are happening, specially in the night and there is no police officer around when cabbies need help!
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/08/12/new-york-taxis-nudge-customers-toward-30-tips/
To CrediCardCabbie – you are missing a point – as per Taxi Driver Protection Act these females must have been arrested, but cops did not want to do paperwork – cop ALREADY there, they are not missing, they are not too busy with something else – they refuse to do their job, the job I (as a taxpayer) actually PAY THEM TO DO. And in reality of NYS law – this an abaondoment and negligence on the police part = all comes down to simple reverved racism!!! I understood long time ago that s a cab driver in NYC, I have NO rights = NONE, so all these politians / comminsioners can propose any laws they like – one day I will right a book giving details of my personal conversations with Daus and Yassky – they we’ll not be in a pretty light.
In my opinion only an idiot would call the police for 30 cents.
I work for a cab company in Australia and see the same problem just cause a driver is from another country they get bullied and assulted by members of the public and police dont care. So when one of my drivers is been assulted I send a msg to all drivers in that area on there computer advissing location of the driver been assulted and in 2 mins I have 20 cabs on sight assisting the passangers off the driver been assulted with police to attend the scene when they get a chance
Aussie Mate- In this country you’d be doing hard time for instigating a riot. Cabbies in NYC have no rights that a “regular person” need respect.
Well, we’re not getting the wrning sticker and when you think about it “so what?” What would really change in the daily worklife of a taxi driver had Patterson NOT vetoed the law? And here’s a question about whoever drew up this legislation: Did you have an attorney review it for possible technical objections?
Hi,
Congratulations all cabiies , Finally NYC think a bit for your safety..
But the safety is not a stiker inside the cab.. its so many thing should the city do and the driver himself.. such the use of seat belt at least on the hightways.
I know that taxi drivers are allowed to not use seat belt while on duty in the city streets but almost all of them they dont use it at all even outside the the state like while driving to Newark Airport. So Its not safe and its illegal
An other important issue for cabbies safety is the seepding, and its most dangerous if without seat belt, and/or with DWAI such too much fatigue, stress, or sleep feeling.
My point is : The risque is not only from dangerous passengers but from the drivers themselves, so becarefull guys you may caught by the cops or gets hurt.
Finaly I hope that NYC will raise the fare a bit then drivers will have less stress about his daily income.
Good luck to everybody
What is seepding and what is DWAI ? Does seepding mean seat? Can’t figure what DWAI means.
my garage just raise the lease money on us 100$ in just over a year . is that right ? we need help i feel like they are raping us and no one is saying anything. the raise the price without notice . 35 $ more for the week . sos we need help.
$100 raise a day, a week, how did it happen? Raise to $100, not raise to $200?
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