Note: The following document is available here solely as a convenience. For any official use, the document should be acquired off the OSHA web site www.osha.gov

    OSHA National News Release
    U.S. Department of Labor
    Office of Public Affairs

    National News Release
    Tuesday, May 9, 2000
    Contact: Bill Wright (202) 693-1999

    OSHA RECOMMENDS PROTECTIVE MEASURES
    TO HELP PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST TAXI DRIVERS

    Industry among highest for homicides, assaults

    Saying that the number of assaults and homicides against taxi drivers now borders on "epidemic," Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman today released guidelines for safety measures that could protect drivers. The list of 10 recommended safety measures was published in an OSHA fact sheet.

    "Taxi drivers are 60 times more likely than other workers to be murdered on the job," Secretary Herman said. "We can't control random violence, but better protection could save lives. I hope this information will spur drivers and their employers to take protective steps."

    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 510 drivers were murdered on the job between 1992-98. Taxi drivers are also victim to more violent assaults (184 per 1,000 workers) than any other occupation with the exception of police (306 per 1,000) and private security guards (218 per 1,000).

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration developed the fact sheet in consultation with taxi driver safety advocates, an industry trade association, and transportation regulators. Called "Risk Factors and Protective Measures for Taxi and Livery Drivers," the fact sheet lists 10 protective measures to help prevent injury to drivers and speed response time to those who need help. The measures include:

    automatic vehicle location or global positioning systems (GPS) to locate drivers in distress; caller ID to help trace location of fares; first-aid kits in every car for use in emergencies; in-car surveillance cameras; partitions or shields; protocol with police -- owners and police to track high-crime locations; radios to communicate in emergencies (e.g., with an "open mike switch"); safety training for drivers; silent alarms; use of credit/debit cards ("cashless" fare systems) to discourage robberies.

    OSHA Administrator Charles N. Jeffress emphasized that the fact sheet does not represent new OSHA enforcement policy, nor does it substitute for any current standards. He said that the fact sheet is a "tool" to provide drivers and their employers with information they may use to help ensure worker safety.

    "Many employers, safety consultants and advocacy groups are already helping in the fight to reduce these violent acts against taxi drivers," Jeffress said. "But we need to do more, and we hope that employers and drivers will consider the information in this fact sheet and then implement the safety measures."

    The fact sheet [PDF 40K], available on OSHA's home page at www.osha.gov, was provided to the International Taxicab and Livery Association, the International Taxi Drivers Safety Council and the International Association of Transportation Regulators for distribution to their membership.

    U. S. Department of Labor
    Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration May 2000

    Risk Factors and Protective Measures
    for Taxi and Livery Drivers

    The Problem

    Taxi and livery drivers are 60 times more likely than other workers to be murdered while on the job, according to the National Institute for Occupa-tional Safety and Health (NIOSH).1 In 1998, 48 taxi and livery drivers were murdered while attempt-ing to earn a living.2 Although this number has de-creased from previous years, these drivers are still at high risk for becoming victims of homicide.

    Taxi Drivers Murdered: 1992-98 2

    '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98
    86 97 87 68 50 74 48

    Taxi and livery drivers are also among those with the highest rates of nonfatal assault—183.8 per 1,000—exceeded only by police (306.0 per 1,000) and private security guards (217.8 per 1,000).3

    The Occupational Safety and Health Admin-istration (OSHA) is concerned about violence against taxi and livery drivers and is issuing this fact sheet to give drivers and their employers in-formation that may help make their jobs safer. This fact sheet identifies risk factors that taxi and liv-ery drivers face along with a list of potential safety measures that might help protect them. It also describes employer responsibilities and employee rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act).4

    Risk Factors

    A number of factors put drivers at risk, as iden-tified by NIOSH:

    • working with the public
    • working with cash
    • working alone
    • working at night
    • working in high-crime areas.

    There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution. A num-ber of measures may help reduce the risks encoun-tered by taxi and livery drivers. Improving safety for drivers will require the efforts and commitments of vehicle owners, drivers, service providers, law enforcement agencies, regulatory officials, and local government regulators. A number of strate-gies are being tried, but the deterrent effect of many of these is unknown. Some may not pre-vent injury but may speed response time when an incident occurs.

    Safety Measures

    Potential safety measures include, but are not limited to, the following items:

    • automatic vehicle location or global position-ing systems (GPS) to locate drivers in distress;
    • caller ID to help trace location of fares;
    • first-aid kits for use in emergencies;
    • in-car surveillance cameras to aid in appre-hending perpetrators;
    • partitions or shields 5 to protect drivers from would-be perpetrators must be used properly to work effectively;
    • protocol with police—owners and police need to track high-crime locations and perpetrator profiles;
    • radios to communicate in case of emergency - e.g., "open mike switch";
    • safety training to teach drivers, dispatchers, and company owners protective measures;
    • silent alarms to alert others in the event of danger - e.g., "bandit lights"; and
    • use of debit/credit cards - i.e., cashless fare systems - to discourage robbers.

    Employer Responsibilities

    OSHA citations can only be issued for violations of standards, regulations, and the General Duty Clause. Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, or the "General Duty Clause," provides that "Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees" [29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1)].

    This fact sheet is not intended to create legal obligations and will not be used as the basis for an enforcement action brought under Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act. The failure to implement any potential measure listed in this fact sheet is not in itself a violation of the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act.

    Taxi and livery companies that only use the services of drivers who are independent contractors are not subject to OSH Act coverage. It should be noted, however, that the potential safety measures listed here are likely to help reduce the risk for independent contractors to the same extent as employees.

    Employee Rights

    Section 11(c)(1) of the OSH Act provides: "No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against any employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding or because of the exercise by such employee on behalf of himself or others of any right afforded by this Act" [29 U.S.C. 660 (c)].

    Employers are required by law to communicate to employees these rights under the OSH Act. Posters containing these and other rights are available free of charge from OSHA’s area offices or can be downloaded from OSHA’s website - www.osha.gov

    Conclusion

    It is the responsibility of employers to take measures to protect the health and safety of their employees; it is also incumbent upon each driver to practice safety. OSHA has provided this list of potential safety measures to help reduce work-related risks. This is not a new standard or regulation. This fact sheet is advisory in nature and informational in content.

    Employers and employees alike may find this information useful in making the kinds of changes that may help prevent assaults upon taxi and livery drivers.

    For more information, please contact OSHA Office of General Industry Compliance Assistance at (202) 693-1850 or write OSHA at

    Directorate of Compliance Programs,
    200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-3107,
    Washington, DC 20210.

    See also the following websites for related information:
    www.osha.gov
    www.cdc.gov/niosh
    www.taxi-l.org


    1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Current Intelligence Bulletin 57: Violence in the Workplace-Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies, Publication No. 96-100, Cincinnati, OH, 1996.

    2 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1998, News Bulletin USDL-99- 208, Washington, DC, 1999.

    3 Greg Warchol, Ph.D., “Workplace Violence, 1992-96,” in Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Washington, DC, July 1998, p. 3.

    4 P.L. 91-596, December 29, 1970; as amended by P.L. 101-552, 3101, November 5, 1990.

    5 John R. Stone and Daniel C. Stevens, "The Effectiveness of Taxi Partitions: The Baltimore Case," the University of Tennessee Transportation Center, Knoxville, TN, June 1999. The study demonstrated that shields reduce assaults. Drivers of unshielded taxis are more likely to be assaulted than drivers of shielded taxis. The study also showed that shields are cost-effective - i.e., the benefits of reduction in injury and robbery losses substantially exceed the costs of shield installation.

    Official OSHA Taxi Driver Safety Fact Sheet may be downloaded and read from:

    www.osha-slc.gov/OSHAFacts/taxi-livery-drivers.pdf

    Note: Requires Acrobat to be read.

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