Cabbies turn deaf ear to cell ban
Say they ‘don’t know’ using phones illegal
By Edward Mason | Friday, August 14, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
A Hub gab order banning chatty cabbies from using their cell phones while behind the wheel has gone nowhere, with few drivers getting slapped with violations - and many saying they’re totally in the dark about the new rule, meant to prevent fares from becoming fatalities, a Herald review found.
Hackney cops have handed out a mere 20 citations since the ban on using a cell phone with a passenger on board went into effect Jan. 1, records show. By comparison, another new rule requiring cabs be cleaned daily has garnered more than 1,600 violations.
“I didn’t even know it was illegal,” cabbie Mohamad Moharam, 48, said while waiting for fares at Logan International Airport.
Moharam said he hasn’t noticed cops coming down hard on him or other taxi drivers using cells. “There is no crackdown,” he said.
Levis Prevaly, 59, was talking on a cell phone when a reporter got into his cab in the Financial District. After driving around a city block, he finished his conversation and hung up.
“I know nothing about the rule,” Prevaly said when apprised of it.
Another driver, Pablo Tur, 51, bristled when questioned about the rule. “I don’t see any difference if I use this,” he said, holding up his Bluetooth earpiece, which also is illegal under the ban.
“I work a minimum 12 hours a day, every day. I never see my family. And now you tell me I can’t talk on the phone? We’re people. We’re not animals,” he said.
The Herald review comes amid growing concern nationwide about the risks of using cell phones while behind the wheel.
Earlier this summer, the MBTA barred bus and subway operators from using cell phones after a texting Green Line driver caused a crash that sent 50 passengers to the hospital. New Hampshire just outlawed texting while driving, and last week, federal officials began looking at a national ban.
Boston’s measure was part of a sweeping initiative unveiled Aug. 29 by Mayor Thomas M. Menino that included a 16 percent fare hike, and requirements that cabs take credit cards, drivers spiff up their appearance and the entire fleet go hybrid by 2015.
In an interview Wednesday, Hackney Capt. Robert Ciccolo insisted, “Boston cabs are very safe. I think they are some of the safest in the state.”
He doesn’t believe cabbies who profess ignorance of the new rule. Some 10,000 fliers were handed out last year, he said.
Yet Ciccolo also acknowledged that Bluetooth devices make it tough to tell if the driver is talking to a passenger or on the phone. And passengers get angry when their cab gets pulled over.
“If I could find a better way to do it, I would,” Ciccolo said.
All told, 28 suspensions were meted out from 20 violations and another 22 customer complaints since Jan. 1, Ciccolo said.
Cab drivers can be suspended for up to three days for violating the rules. There are no fines.
David Teater, a senior director at the National Safety Council, said Boston “doesn’t go far enough” to protect the public.
“I think the policy should be when a vehicle is in motion (with or without passengers), you don’t use a cell phone for any purpose, whether it’s hand-held or hand-free,” Teater said.
Indeed, he won’t even get in a cab unless the driver promises to put his cell phone away. “I tell them, ‘I’m entrusting my life to you,’ ” Teater said. “And they virtually always agree.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1190934
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