Letter: Rate cabbies for rider information
The TLC receives about 18,000 complaints each year from people who agree to participate in the required hearing, about 30% of which are service refusals, according to the agency. Credit: Flickr/imuttoo
The recent deaths of Nobel Prize winner John Nash and his wife, as well as newsman Bob Simon, remind us, as you point out in your editorial, of the need for backseat passengers to buckle up ["Make using seat belts the law in backseat, too," May 27].
But Newsday's editorial goes on to state, "There's no difference between the safety of taxis and other cars . . . ." In fact, there is a big difference. When you get into your own car, or that of a friend, you have some idea of the abilities and record of the driver. In a cab, you have no way of knowing.
The driver who drove Bob Simon to his death had multiple suspensions and tickets. A rating system based on driving record and experience needs to be instituted to give the public a fighting chance to avoid reckless or incompetent cab and livery drivers.
Arthur Wellikoff, Malverne
