Use tax breaks to improve minicab safety, says GMB

The GMB general union is planning to lobby the Department for Transport (DfT) over the poor levels of protection given to minicab drivers.

Research by the union’s professional drivers branch has revealed 45 cases of serious assaults on drivers by their passengers between April and December 2007 – with nine drivers losing their lives in attacks which involved guns, knives and even their own vehicles.

Branch secretary Terence Flanagan called for “immediate action” to reduce the “severe risks” faced on a daily basis by minicab drivers.

The GMB is seeking the introduction of tax incentives and other measures to finance the installation of a closed-circuit television camera and a shield between the driver and the passengers – as already exists in black cabs and buses – in every licensed minicab. It points out that the introduction of such fixtures in Sheffield has reduced the number of attacks on drivers by 72%.

The union also wants minicab companies to train drivers in anticipating trouble and dealing with it when it occurs.

The DfT lobby will take place on Workers’ Memorial Day, 28 April.