Editorial: Cameras would help protect cab drivers

Monday, Oct. 4, 2004 | 9:09 a.m.

Assaults against taxi drivers are a constant in Las Vegas and cities throughout the country. The U.S. Labor Department says taxi drivers are 60 times more likely than other workers, including police officers, to be murdered on the job. Most of the larger cities have taken measures to protect drivers, such as equipping taxis with high-resolution cameras or bullet-resistant barriers between the front and back seats. Some cities have done both. Las Vegas hasn't done anything.

After a particularly violent rash of crimes against taxi drivers in 1992, the state Taxicab Authority, which regulates cabs in Las Vegas, considered but rejected the idea of cameras. The idea remained alive among drivers, however, because of the constant threat they are under.

The latest push for cameras in cabs came in February, following a wave of violent crime against drivers in 2003. Again the Taxicab Authority rejected the proposal, basing its decision on objections posed by owners of cab companies. And again crime against cab drivers continued, including the horrific murder of a driver in August, who died several days after being set afire by a passenger intent on robbing him.

One owner, however, did agree at the February meeting to pay $16,000 for a study about cameras in cabs. We saw this as a stalling tactic, as this issue has already been studied in other cities and the results are readily available. The study was completed this month and while it offered no new information, it did set the stage for the Taxicab Authority to take another vote on cameras at its meeting next month.

The governor appoints the five members of the Taxicab Authority. In our view, members who vote no again on this issue need to be replaced. We need members who understand that drivers are human beings whose safety must be the top priority.