Cases Of Crazy Cab Drivers In Philadelphia
Yesterday I took one of the most frightful and disturbing taxi cab rides ever and unfortunately, it was in a cab operated by a man who not only barely spoke English but was also extraordinarily rude and offensive to my senses. The driver of this vehicle ran red lights, ignored traffic signals and then tried to charge me a fee in excess of the metered rate. The same cab driver was screaming on a cell phone while traveling at high rates of speed throughout the city and almost struck a pedestrian crossing the street.
Almost three weeks ago, I had a similar experience when taking a cab with my wife, sister-in-law and brother-in-law and it makes me believe these are not isolated incidents. As an experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer since 1979, I have handled more than my share of taxi cab accident cases and personally came to recognize that some of these taxis operated by such drivers are extremely dangerous to passengers, as well as other drivers and pedestrians with whom they share the road. When a Philadelphia taxi cab is in an accident, it is only are required to maintain minimal insurance coverage. Though all Pennsylvania taxi cabs must be licensed by the Public Utility Commission in order to legally operate, they are not required to have insurance beyond a statuary minimum of $15,000.
Many of the taxis are not inspected for safety and many operators and drivers fail to follow safety guidelines as well as PUC guidelines. Such mechanical issues and lack of attention to safety as well as driver inattention is often the cause of catastrophic or fatal traffic accidents where innocent victims get injured. The PUC requires that taxi cabs charge fees approved by the PUC and not in excess of those fees as the driver attempted to do with myself. The PUC also requires adherence to the Commission’s driver and vehicle safety regulations following the shortest route to any requested destination providing a requested receipt and meeting all Pennsylvania equipment and inspection standards as well as keeping the vehicle properly marked with PUC numbers, vehicle numbers and company names as well as having a properly operated and sealed meter.
Recently in Philadelphia, a Philadelphia taxi cab killed a 5-year-old boy and then left the scene. In the opinion of this experienced car accident lawyer, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the PUC must enforce in a more stringent manner the guidelines surrounding the operation of cabs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Additionally, although cabs are only required to maintain only a minimal $15,000 of bodily injury automobile liability insurance to compensate an injured victim, the risk of accidents is greatly increased with the noted safety concerns and if SEPTA is required to be self-insured for $250,000 of bodily injury insurance coverage per person, why shouldn’t cabs be required to have the same? The taxi cab situation in Philadelphia is simply out of control and needs to be addressed. This is a significant safety as well as public relations issue for the City of Philadelphia.
If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a car accident, please contact one of our experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.
