'Enough is enough' say taxi drivers after savage attacks (From Watford Observer)

'Enough is enough' say Watford taxi drivers after savage attacks

1:40pm Friday 5th March 2010 in News By Neil Skinner

Said Omin (left) and Mohammed Chaudary (right) pictured with fellow drivers this week

Two taxi drivers say they “are lucky to be alive” after falling victim to savage attacks by drunken customers.

Both were viciously assaulted in their own vehicles in the early hours of Sunday morning, with one forced to jump from his still moving car to escape the attack he feared would kill him.

Fellow drivers, who say they are regularly assaulted by drunk and abusive night-time passengers, said this week that “enough is enough” and demanded more protection from the police and Watford Borough Council.

The Watford Hackney Carriage Drivers Association spoke to the Watford Observer this week to explain the horrifying details of the latest attacks and to call for greater protection for its drivers.

Said Omid, 26, of Durban Road West, described a brutal attack he was subjected to after collecting two men from the Rickmansworth Road taxi rank.

He said: “They told me to go to Rayners Lane. There was no argument or anything until we got there. They told me to stop in a lay-by in Alexandra Avenue, then one of them grabbed me from behind and started choking me.

“The other man held down my arms from the side. He [the man behind] was very strong and I could not breathe. I felt myself going out and remember the other man shouting ‘kill him, kill him, if you don’t he’ll cause problems for us.’ “Then the guy behind me dragged me into the back seat and was still trying to choke me. They both had knives. I really thought they were going to kill me.

“The guy in the front started driving the car. I didn’t know where we were going or what he was going to do so I jumped out of the door when the car was still moving. I really had no choice. I was thinking about my wife and family. I knew that if I did not jump they would have killed me. Now I have lost my car and am scared to drive at night again.”

Dad-of-four Mohammed Chaudary, 52, suffered a similar fate at roughly the same time. Speaking with two black eyes clearly visible he said: “I had picked up seven men from the top of town and took them to Ladbroke Grove.

“When they got aggressive with me I rang the police for help but they said it was a civil matter – that is what they always say.

“They wanted me to go further and would not get out of the car. What could I do with so many of them in the car? It was like being kidnapped.

“One of them punched me in the face. Then they all jumped on me and started hitting me. They kept hitting me until I was knocked out, took the keys to the car and left me for dead. I was lucky that they did not kill me.

Mr Chaudary, who has driven taxis since 1981, also suffered a broken nose and severe bruising. He says he is reluctant to return to his taxi and his livelihood.

Shafiq Ahmed, chairman of the WHCD, said the issue of driver safety had to be addressed “before somebody was killed”. He called this week for the introduction of both in-car CCTV and a panic alarm linked to the police – whom, it is claimed, pass off many incidents as mere civil disputes.

He added: “These are two very serious incidents but my members are being attacked all the time. Somebody is hit, spat at, racially abused, or has their takings stolen two or three times a week and that cannot be right. We are needed in the town centre but we need protection as well. We are fed up of being ignored. Does someone have to be killed before something is done?”

Mayor Dorothy Thornhill said she was “shocked and appalled” by the attacks. She offered to meet with the association to discuss possible steps forward but said her council would “not rush to a knee-jerk decision.”

Chief Inspector John Dempsey-Brench said his officers receive very few calls about attacks on drivers but urged any victims to come forward and report incidents of assault. Disputed fares, he added, were difficult to deal with unless a crime was committed.