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I am not comparing the UK to the US but here in alot of states were allowed to carry guns. The only reason is because our taxis are our shops, and we take in large amounts of money sometimes. I do not know the laws in The UK pertaining to taxi drivers but arent the drivers allowed to carry any type of weapons? If not hand guns then taser guns or pepper spray? Nevada it is legal to carry a taser gun like the police have. But here in California the next state over taser guns are against the law and a serious crime at that. We can carry stun guns but I would much rather have a taser so if an idiot used anything short of a gun, I would shoot him with a taser and drain the batteries on him.

Another driver was reported by police when a passenger said "This is a robbery". The police reported that the driver floored the car and was doing 80 mph in the city. A police officer spotted the speeding taxi and joined in. The driver saw the police and locked up the brakes. The police did not cite the driver and they determined that the passenger was only joking. The passenger paid the driver and was made to leave from the stop. He sincerely apologised and said the driver scared him so bad he will never joke like that again. Again I cant say enough times, stay safe. In the US taxi drivers are rated in the top three most dangerous jobs in america. Police rank number one, Firefighters rank number two and Taxi drivers rank number three. When I got shot, the bullet blew my shoulder apart, hit a rib, ripped my right lung open, traveled up in my neck/throat, then deflected back down and hit my heart. It didnt pierce my heart rather just stopped there.

If I had a gun that night he couldnt have shot me. Even just a taser could have stopped him. His gun didnt have one in the chamber. When I floored the car, it only got to 30 mph when he cocked his gun, touched my shoulder and pulled the trigger. I thought it was ready to fire but I am ready to die fighting. No one has the right to take things that dont belong to them and if more of us fight back, the word on the streets is they have bad odds trying to rob taxi drivers. When my shooting hit the news and was broadcasted, there were less robberies reported the rest of the year. To be successfull in robbing anyone or even shooting them you would have to be a distance out of their reach. In my car I have the advantage. Especially if theyre in the front seat. If theyre in the back and I am stopped, I have no defence. But if I am already moving it is them who are at a disadvantage. Please defend yourself but be careful doing so. And also pass the word around that police are driving taxis undercover to catch criminals. It might be a lie but the idiot criminals are leary if they think cops are really driving taxis in some areas. It wont stop crime but it will reduce it.

We in the UK can not carry anything for protection.
If a police officer stopped us and found anything in the car that's purpose is for self defense we get prosecuted ( We would more than likely loose our taxi license as well. )
The way silly UK laws work is that we are expected to call assistance, we can defend ourselves but must only use reasonable force to calm the person down or restrain the attacker until the police arrive.
I know you will be crying now laughing at this ridiculous system of law...

Crime toward Taxi drivers in the UK is not uncommon, knife crime seems to be the most popular.
Some of our licensing councils have just began to allow the use of CCTV in Taxis............
CCTV will NEVER stop any attack, at the most it might assist in the prosecution of the attacker.
 I went into this debate some time ago.....for professional drivers to be able to defend ourselves against such attacks and possibly be allowed to carry something that might just save our lives.
Some have the view that whatever we carry for defense could be used against us if in the event it was removed from our possession.
Well I would rather take the chance and have something to defend myself as opposed to be worried in-case it was taken from me and used against me.

But then again we live in "mamsy pamsy" Britain where the law is not always there to protect the innocent victim and the punishment for such crimes can be a bed of roses, there is no real deterant over here to make idiots think "I better not do that "..........................

Steve

Taxi's you make a fair enough point about the cctv not stopping an attack. That is true if the nutter in the car is determined to do you but from some of the figures I have heard about attacks have dropped in areas where they have been introduced. A high profile case with one of these bar stewards being banged up for a long time in full view of the public (that were having a professional press dept comes in handy) would also do the world of good. It is frustrating that we can't defend ourselves in relation to the British law and I am glad you are begining to see that the law isn't there for ordinary working people like us. That doesn't mean we don't use it to the best advantage where we can but some on this site talk as if the law was the be all and end all of everything.

You ever seen those great big heavy torches that come in bloody handy when you are looking for numbers on a dark night. Always handy to have one in the glove compartment

Hello South London Cab.
Without a doubt I am all for having CCTV equipment in my Taxi.
I have had it installed for ages and ages now. It does have advantages and simply by having the system installed defused a situation in my vehicle not so long ago.
But then again I have had crazy passengers see the system and could not give a flying feck, they still Kick off because like you and me they have no respect for law and order.
Like you say "A nutter that is going to wack you will" end of story. 
CCTV is not just there incase you are attacked in my eyes, it has lots of other purposes like when you are accused of something you did not do situations.
Last time this topic was discussed I mentioned that we are in a dangerous line of work and like our fellow police officers ( Been professional working people  we would not use a weapon simply because we can carry one. But we might if someone pulls a knife and holds it at us. ( You know the situation ! When you think your life is at risk ).
There should be some exemptions for this trade to protect our lives.

Steve

Like I said, my wife is from Dudley and the things she has told me about the nutters and freakin criminals in the UK is so out of hand its not funny. I am really sorry that you guys cant carry self defense. If there is anything I can do which probably isnt, Ill be happy to. As far as writing letters to your government etc. Any shop owner in the US is allowed to keep a gun inside the shop. Our laws do at least allow us to defend ourselves. And a Taxi is considered a shop so we can carry them. I myself have never carried a weapon. But praise God I dont drive in the UK. I would kill anyone who tried to hurt or rob me. I am not the driver to take anything of that sort. I know hand guns are either not allowed or under very strict laws in the UK and if we had the same laws we would have less crime. Here if an idiot uses a gun, the police go crazy searching everyone for weapons. When someone kills a child by shooting them, the freakin public tries to outlaw guns in the good society. So our motto is "IF GUNS ARE OUTLAWD ONLY OUTLAWS WOULD HAVE GUNS!" Guns dont kill people. People kill people.

We do have to be vigil here. I was threatened by a stranger who accused me of following him, and I called the police with my public job (I thought it would be better than fighting) and the idiot cop yelled at me and told me to stop following him! I told the idiot cop I had never seen the guy before in my life and it only makes sense that I am on every freakin street every day and half the night. I went to the police station and filed a written complaint. The cop got in big trouble. It is in the police departments best interests to protect local businesses. After all would you want to be responsible for the only taxi company leaving town because the police wouldnt protect them from violence? I told the chief of police, (known him for twentyone years,) that next time I would not call the police no matter what the circumstances are because that cop made it very clear that calling the police is wrong. The chief got real serious and said for me to call them. He definitely berated the cop and so did his other officers. I have been here 21 years and I know everyone. Plus I am the only taxi company in the entire county.

Good luck to all of you and your all in my prayers. And as my wife calls me, a (Wankin yank) lol I do care about you guys. After all my family didnt like england and migrated here before the states became the states. So am I a yank or a brit? Guess we will never know. When someone says "God Bless America" It pisses me off. I say God Bless The World. And my son is from Dudley so in school they say the pledge to the flag, we gave him his choice and told the head master the same. If my son cooses not to pledge to the flag, then he doesnt have to. He had better not get in trouble for it or I would hit the local news station and papers with it. But he chooses to so we just let him get on with it. I fly both american and british flags. My first business cards had the good ol brit flag on them lol. People asked why and I told them. Some people got offended but F#$k em. Stay safe and if I can ever afford to buy a fairway, Ill ship it over here and run it. The yanks here would die to ride in a fairway with the steering wheel on the right. Id make even more money. See you guys tomorrow n thanks for lettn me join.

You are 100% right saying this.
That's the same reaction we seem to have over here as well regarding guns !
On 13 March 1996 a lone gunman went on a shooting spree at a school in Dunblane, Scotland, killing 16 children and their teacher.

So The ban on ownership of handguns was introduced in 1997 as a result of the Dunblane massacre, only affecting legitimate licensed firearms holders never has it or will it ever affect the likes of Thomas Hamilton who did the crime.
So anyways handguns were outlawed and now only outlaws have handguns you are spot on.
What they seem to miss when making these decisions is by altering legislation that affects legal firearms holders does not affect the underworld / criminal fraternity that really couldn't give a sh*t about legislation.
Some will try and say that by removing handguns from legal firearms holders premises it will reduce the amount of handguns that could be stolen and used in crime !
These people that think that are without a doubt barking mad !
What next Ban all guns ? Ban all kitchen bread knives ? ban petrol so no one can be set on fire ? Ban the car so no one can be ran over ?
Its the politics in this country, its absolutely crap.......
And all the idiot "goody goody" squads that have these undereducated proposals to throw at our half witted politicians.
Steve