Cabbies should be trained to handle conflict

Cabbies should be trained to handle conflict The disturbing altercation recently caught on video between a Montreal taxi driver and a group of young men - involving vandalism of the vehicle, serious injury to one of the men and the arrest of the driver in question - has led to calls for increased safety measures to protect taxi drivers. Most importantly, they are supplied with no training in how to deal with difficult situations that inevitably happen from time to time: how to minimize and avoid conflict with customers; how to defuse conflict when it arises; or how to protect themselves and others when this isn't possible. The good news is that the Quebec transport ministry and the Montreal Taxi Bureau are in the activity of developing an extensive continuing-education program for taxi drivers. It would certainly cost a great deal less than the $8. Any driving instructor will tell you that while airbags and seat belts are a good idea, defensive-driving knowledge is the key to road safety. They are required by law to pick up anyone and everyone, and follow their directions. It seems to me that there is a more fundamental question here: how is it possible that a veteran taxi driver, a middle-aged family man with no record of violence, managed to find himself in such a situation, with such disastrous consequences for himself and others? And what can be done to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future? I have been involved in the Montreal taxi industry for the last 35 years, and this isn't the first such incident I have encountered, although it is by far the most serious in terms of its consequences. (As a working taxi driver 30 years ago, I recall being involved in more than one such dispute myself. They have no guaranteed minimum income, no group insurance, no pension plan and no vacations - none of those things that most working people take for granted. The reality is that taxi drivers, in my experience, are a hard working, good-natured, decent group of guys (in Montreal, the vast majority are men). What taxi drivers need above all is support. Far too many of these incidents degenerate into ugly disputes, sometimes involving vandalism, sometimes injury, sometimes criminal charges. Yet the reality is that in almost all these cases, including the incident of April 29, it is possible to identify ways in which the driver may have acted differently and avoided most or all the disastrous consequences of the altercation, starting with the initial dispute over the fare, and including the opportunity of leaving the scene before things get worse. The driver involved usually sees himself as the victim. He did not see it coming. Similarly, panic buttons and 911 lights should probably be installed, but proper driver training will help avoid most of these situations and increase safety for everybody. They are left alone on the streets of the city in what is admittedly one of the most dangerous of occupations, with no support system of any kind. Drugs or alcohol are sometimes, but not always, a factor. . Cabbies should be trained to handle conflict Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 08/05/2012