Dodging your fare may get more difficult soon, as the NYPD is beginning self-defense training for cab drivers. According to the Post, the regimen will include strategies for dealing with “violent passengers and farebeaters” as well as “handling high-stress situations that could lead to road rage and accidents.”
Training will also include what a driver should do if he or she encounters “suspicious activity on the street,” and a quote from the Greater New York Taxi Association’s executive director belies the program may extend beyond safety tips and training videos. “Police officers and taxi drivers are on the streets of New York together all day and night,” Ethan Gerber told the tabloid. “And we want to be the eyes and ears helping the police as much as we can.”
Considering the department’s idea of what constitutes a shady character, perhaps this program will just make certain cabbies even more suspicious of black men than they apparently already are.
(Photo: @Matt Kane)
