How would you feel riding in a cab with a taxi-driver who had struck and killed a pedestrian? How would you feel crossing the street knowing cab drivers on NYC streets can hold onto their licenses after fatal accidents? It’s true. And it’s time for the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to hold cabbies responsible for their dangerous ways.
If a cab driver causes the death or maiming of a pedestrian, you would think he or she would face some consequences—a suspended or revoked license, for instance. But, as the New York Post recently uncovered, at-fault cab drivers often do not lose their licenses.
Dangerous Taxi Drivers Rarely Face Penalty
The Post revealed of 16 fatal and serious accidents involving cabbies since 2009, only two of the cabbies in question lost their licenses. Even in some of the most well-publicized cases, taxi drivers are able to hold onto their driving privileges—some of them driving the very day after their fatal accident.
Most recently, everyone heard about the pedestrian accident involving the cab that jumped a curb in Rockefeller Center, hitting a British tourist and ultimately costing the 25-year-old woman her leg. His case is one of the more shocking, as he admitted to being a bad driver, already having nine points on his license before the crash. He lied in his job interview with Arthur Cab Leasing and received a summons after the accident for driving a taxi he wasn’t authorized to drive. That cabbie still has his license.
In another case, a 9-year-old boy was killed when he was crossing the street at the corner and with the signal, with his father. The cab driver was given a ticket for failure to yield, one that will cost him about $300. Though he has not driven since the accident, he still maintains an active license.
In these two accidents and many others like them, the cab drivers aren’t charged with a crime. And when they aren’t charged with a crime, the TLC doesn’t act to suspend their license privileges.
The TLC, who licenses cabbies and is tasked with holding them responsible for abiding by the rules of the road in regards to their licensed privileges, can temporarily suspend a driver’s license for 30 days if they have racked up six or more points and can revoke a license when they have accumulated more than 10 points. Aside from that, their power is limited.
Of 51,340 licensed taxi drivers in NYC, only 874 have had their licenses revoked since 2009 because of point accumulations.
Time for More Accountability, Tougher Regulations
The TLC seems to be aware of its own shortcomings. As The Post reports, the TLC is working to change its rules so that drivers involved in a serious accident—resulting in the death or maiming of a pedestrian—would have their licenses immediately suspended or revoked pending the results of a crash investigation. Currently, that simply doesn’t happen and cabbies can be behind the wheel the very next day.
Also, the agency is working to begin tracking cabbie accidents. Currently, it doesn’t keep track of cabbie accidents, a serious shortcoming.
These licensed drivers are on the road more than any of us. They make their money getting people to their destinations in the quickest manner possible, sometimes taking unnecessary risks to make that happen. Their time on the road may make them more experienced, but it doesn’t make them above the law.