NYC Taxi Passengers Suffer Facial Injuries In Unbelted Accidents

In a story by Heidi Evans in the March 11, 2012 edition of the New York Daily News, it was reported that passengers in New York City taxicabs are suffering numerous facial injuries due to their failure to utilize rear seat belts. For some reason, many people (this writer included) seem to have a different perspective on car safety when they are in a taxi cab (ignoring seat belts) than when they drive themselves and are more vigilant about seat belt usage.

The issue is compounded by the fact that New York City cabbies frequently drive quite aggressively, make short stops, exceed the speed limit, pass on the right, and cut in and out of lanes. These dangerous maneuvers occur while the driver is attempting to avoid other traffic, bicyclists, pedestrians, and buses.

Pedestrians are suffering facial injuries after striking the glass partition, including broken noses, fractured teeth, abrasions and even brain trauma after a short stop or collision with another vehicle. The distance between the partition and the passengers can be no more than 16 to 19 inches, not much space when the taxi comes to a sudden stop. Rear passengers are routinely being treated at NYC emergency rooms after striking their faces on cup holders, sharp edged credit card machines, change cups and steel bolts.

Dr. Lewis Goldfrank, the chairman of the emergency departments at Bellevue Hospital and NYU Langone, walks to work each day rather than take taxis after observing the severe injuries suffered by taxi passengers he encounters in his daily experience. He states that the only time he noticed a reduction in injuries was at the inception of the TLC campaign airing recordings of Joe Torre, Ed Koch and other prominent New Yorkers reminding passengers to “buckle up.”

Cab drivers quoted in the article blame riders, noting that they are often oblivious, focused more on their smart phones than taking the time to put on their seat belts. Evans reports that there are 485,000 daily cab rides in New York City by 13,237 yellow taxis, with the vast majority being safe. However, a TLC survey reportedly reveals that 2 out of 3 rear seat passengers don’t use seat belts.

Mayor Bloomberg’s effort to create a uniform taxi fleet includes new taxis next month, which will be equipped with a purportedly safer partition, subject to federal crash testing for the first time. However, in addition to making partitions safer, and removing sharp objects such as credit card machines, cup holders and steel bolts, clearly there must be a renewed effort to ensure that passengers use seat belts if the hope is to improve safety in NYS taxicabs.


The Law Office of Mark A. Siesel in White Plains, New York represents the victims of car accidents, trip and fall accidents, construction accidents and people injured due to a dangerous or defective product or drug. Contact our office online or toll free today at 888-761-7633 for a free initial consultation with an experienced trial lawyer to discuss your case in detail and your legal options. We will fight the insurance companies and their lawyers every step of the way to maximize your compensation for your injuries, lost earnings and medical/hospital expenses.