Taxi association proposes inward-facing cameras to protect taxi drivers
16 Feb 2015|2,767 views
To protect taxi drivers from violent and fare-evading passengers, the National Taxi Association (NTA) is proposing the use of inward-facing video cameras in cabs. These cameras will capture what happens in the cabin of the taxi, and the footage can be used to resolve disputes between cab drivers and passengers.
"Such a measure will deter people from not paying the fare, or assaulting (cabbies) or any other criminal acts," NTA's Executive Adviser, Mr. Ang Hin Kee, told The Sunday Times.
With two court cases this year, the issue of violence against taxi drivers is in the spotlight. One involves a National University of Singapore Law Professor, a permanent resident here, who allegedly assaulted a taxi driver on Christmas Day in 2013. In the other case, an Insurance Agent refused to pay his fare and punched a taxi driver in the face in May 2013.
In a reply to Parliament in October 2013, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said there were 50 reported cases of unruly passengers over three years, which works out to an average of 17 cases a year.
Currently, cabs are equipped with a panic button to alert the taxi company's call centre, which can then pinpoint the driver's location and alert other cabbies in the vicinity or the police. But video cameras will serve as a greater deterrent to would-be offenders, said Mr. Ang.
This is not the first time such devices are proposed. According to reports, ComfortDelGro fitted 4,000 of its more than 16,000 taxis with these inward-facing video cameras back in 2013.
But the local paper understands that these cameras are not in operation yet as ComfortDelGro has not fully complied with the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) requirements. These include demonstrating to LTA how the cameras work and ensuring that the footage is saved securely.
To protect taxi drivers from violent and fare-evading passengers, the National Taxi Association (NTA) is proposing the use of inward-facing video cameras in cabs. These cameras will capture what happens in the cabin of the taxi, and the footage can be used to resolve disputes between cab drivers and passengers.
"Such a measure will deter people from not paying the fare, or assaulting (cabbies) or any other criminal acts," NTA's Executive Adviser, Mr. Ang Hin Kee, told The Sunday Times.
With two court cases this year, the issue of violence against taxi drivers is in the spotlight. One involves a National University of Singapore Law Professor, a permanent resident here, who allegedly assaulted a taxi driver on Christmas Day in 2013. In the other case, an Insurance Agent refused to pay his fare and punched a taxi driver in the face in May 2013.
In a reply to Parliament in October 2013, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said there were 50 reported cases of unruly passengers over three years, which works out to an average of 17 cases a year.
Currently, cabs are equipped with a panic button to alert the taxi company's call centre, which can then pinpoint the driver's location and alert other cabbies in the vicinity or the police. But video cameras will serve as a greater deterrent to would-be offenders, said Mr. Ang.
This is not the first time such devices are proposed. According to reports, ComfortDelGro fitted 4,000 of its more than 16,000 taxis with these inward-facing video cameras back in 2013.
But the local paper understands that these cameras are not in operation yet as ComfortDelGro has not fully complied with the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) requirements. These include demonstrating to LTA how the cameras work and ensuring that the footage is saved securely.
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