Among Thousands of Cabbies....

April 29, 2010	J. Singh	STRUCK WITH METAL RODand told to "go back to your country"
April 23, 2010	A. Abdallah	CAR JACKED and ASSAULTED suffering a fractured nose
March 28, 2010	Mohammed Chowdhury	SLASHED Across Neck And Beaten In Head And Face
October 31, 2009	Ndiaye Serigne	ASSAULTED By Four Masked Passengers
August 7, 2008	Enois Malbranche	BLINDED In the Right Eye after Being Shot Point Blank
March 18, 2008	Neeru Singh	CHOKED By Passenger Through Partition Window. Called Racial Slurs and Harassed
February 25, 2008	Zakir Howlader	CHOKED, Kicked, Punched, Spat On By Rider Exiting Cab.
December 25, 2007	Gurmail Singh	BEATEN WITH IRON ROD Repeatedly In The Head - Required 16 Stitches - When Parking Car At End Of Shift.
November , 2007	Mohammed Elwaleed	KILLED. Mowed Down By Motorist While Checking Car For Damages After Collision
October 2, 2005	Shajedur Rahman	REMAINS IN COMA. Assaulted On The Job By Private Car Motorists
March 29th, 2005	Mamnun Ul Haq	STABBED In Back With 10-Inch Hunting Knife, Grazed On Both Sides.

I personally haven't had anything as bad as these drivers happen to me. Little things have occurred, some of which could have escalated to an unknown degree had I not countered them with profuse apologies and non-combativeness. I was once spat on by an angry pedestrian who yanked my passengers' door open and leaned over their sitting bodies to get a clear shot at me through the partition. All this simply because I wasn't being conducive to her sporadic jaywalk, which was highly unaware of its surroundings.

I was once watched intently and incessantly by a passenger with a ceaselessly evil giggle who was sticking his face in the partition so I could feel his corrosive breath, while engaging in what I perceived to be masturbation for the duration of the 5 minute ride. It was the one time I almost closed shut the partition for its intended purpose, but I didn't want to stir up anything more ultimately time-consuming or risk not being paid the fare. I felt like I had my head millimeters away from a lunatic and that my life was threatened. He was grunting a lot and making the cab sway from side to side. He then paid and walked out into the darkness like nothing had happened.

I don't remember any other incidents off the top of my head, but I'm sure there were several more. That is why the NY Taxi Workers Alliance is working so hard to push our state government to make the assault of a cabdriver a felony, just as with bus drivers and train operators. We are all transit workers who are responsible for the lives of others, and we work hard to ensure that passengers are ferried safely. These jobs are challenging enough without people attacking us physically.