St. John's taxi driver installs cameras to stop cab crime
Jiffy Cabs driver Doug McCarthy says system has already saved him from one threatening passenger
After growing concerns about violence and difficult passengers, a St. John's taxi driver is taking matters into his own hands.
- Far more cabbies being assaulted than reported, says St. John's driver
- Taxi driver safety at heart of St. John's meetings
- Taxi's dashcam footage shows collision at Kenna's Hill
Doug McCarthy, who drives for Jiffy Cabs, has installed a series of security cameras in his car that is constantly recording.
"It's unfortunate," McCarthy told CBC News. "But like I've said before, St. John's is becoming a large metropolitan city and with that comes large metropolitan crime."
The cameras are infrared, 24-hour recording devices that were installed by Paradise company Advance Technology. They record two weeks of continuous footage onto a secure disc.
McCarthy said a number of incidents over the past few years with cab drivers in the city finally caused him to get the devices — something he feels should become standard in all cabs.
"This industry is unfortunately prone to some pretty violent attacks on our drivers," he said. "So whatever steps we can take as an industry to protect our drivers, they understand that."
The driver, who has long advocated for the safety of the city's taxi operators, said he has been lucky enough not to be physically attacked while behind the wheel.
However, he's still seen enough unpleasant incidents to know that a camera would make him feel better while out on the job.
"[I have seen] everything from clean-up in aisle two, to people having intimate relationships in the back seat, to people making threats to the driver and to myself," he said.
Since installing cameras in his car, McCarthy said they have gotten him out of one potential jam involving a female passenger who refused to pay.
"She said 'If you say anything I'm going to call the RNC and say you sexually assaulted me'," McCarthy said.
Lucky for McCarthy, he told her the cameras were rolling and he had all of what she said recorded.
"When we got her home, she paid the bill," he said. "But if I had not had the cameras and proof of what happened, it would have been her word against mine."