Nearly two years ago, livery cab driver Jose Santacruz picked up a passenger in East Elmhurst after getting a call for a ride from a pay phone about 1:30 a.m. Moments later, the man pulled out a gun and demanded Santacruz’s cash. The Ecuadorian native fought back and the robber fired a single shot into Santacruz’s cheek before fleeing.
Following the August 2008 incident, Humberto Campoverde, owner of Tulcingo, the 24-hour car service in Corona where Santacruz works, now uses a system similar to caller ID that allows him to identify and store phone numbers and addresses as a safety precaution.
“I wouldn’t want this to happen again like it happened to Santacruz,” said Campoverde. “I asked God to project us.”
To help ease the fears of the more than 43,000 taxi drivers in the city, the New York State Assembly and Senate passed the Taxi Driver Protection Act on Friday, June 25, which would increase the penalties on assaults against taxicab, black car, and livery drivers. It also requires a sticker in every taxicab that says, “WARNING: Assaulting A Taxi Driver Is Punishable By Up To Twenty-Five Years In Prison.”
“It is necessary to protect taxi drivers,” said Assemblymember Rory Lancman, chair of the Work Place Safety Committee, who co-authored and co-sponsored the legislation. “It is one of the most dangerous jobs. They are 20 to 30 times more likely to be assaulted.”
Under the bill, misdemeanor assaults, which currently carry maximum one-year prison sentences, would increase the penalty to a mandatory two-year prison term if the victim is a driver. On felony assaults, there would be a penalty enhancement of five additional years to the term if the victim is a driver. The bill now goes to Governor David Paterson for his signature.
“We hope that the law would prevent perpetrators from conducting assaults,” said Bhairavi Desai, president of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a union of over 11,000 New York City yellow taxicab drivers. “It would show that the taxi drivers are not alone and they are supported by New York State. Our victory is dedicated to our drivers that we have lost to the violence.”
Jose Viloria, president of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, made up of mostly livery cabs and black cars, said that, regardless of the bill, cab drivers still need to be alert. They should pay attention to how a person looks, how they are dressed, make sure the cameras in the cabs are working, and keep the glass partition closed at all times.
Allen Obando, 73, has been robbed twice during his 11 years as a livery cab driver. One time with a machete, and another time he was beaten up. Although Obando supported the bill, he doubted it would stop violence against taxi drivers.
“For a delinquent, there is no punishment that would stop him,” said Obando. “You can give him 90 years and he will still do it.”
