Jason MoorePalma14/12/2017 00:00
TW
4

Rather than putting more police officers on patrol or trying to make the local police force more effective, the Palma city council has announced that they would be offering local taxi drivers free personal defence classes. Over the last few years there has been a big increase in the number of attacks on taxi drivers and obviously local cabbies are concerned. One driver told me that he had a knife placed at his throat and another recounted how she had been robbed by three minors.

Now, driving a cab for a living is a dangerous business and taxi drivers have their own security net, they come to each other’s aid if they are in trouble. I would suggest that all cabs should be fitted with the security barriers which divide the driver from passengers. I think the days of an open taxi with no protection for the driver are long gone. It is a great shame and a sad reflection of our times that cabbies now have to take safety precautions. You would have thought that the Palma city council would have had a more robust answer to taxi drivers’ safety concerns. But no.
It is a difficult problem to resolve, however, and no-one wants to see taxis transformed into security boxes on wheels. But I would say to the Palma city council that they should increase the number of police patrols on the streets of Palma. The old adage that you never see a policeman is certainly the case in Palma at the moment. But don’t worry, the city council will see to your defence.