Taxi drivers continue to suffer some appalling treatment at the hands of so-called customers. Shockingly it seems even female cabbies are not immune from violent robbery and abuse.
One female taxi driver, who was robbed at knifepoint in Hull, has spoken of her ordeal, saying she feared for her life as two men stole her cab.
Sue Davey, aged 47, picked up her attackers in West Hull shortly before 10 pm.
Upon arriving at the given destination in Woburn Avenue, Sue was then grabbed around the neck and restrained by the man in the back of the cab as the other, in the front passenger seat, pulled a knife, lent across Ms Davey and turned off the vehicle’s ignition.
The man carrying the knife said: “Do as you are told, you won’t get hurt, just comply.”
Managing somehow to keep her calm under pressure Ms Davey, who works for Hull Cars, managed to press a panic button in her cab and slip her mobile phone in her pocket before the man in the back got out, opened her door, took £75 in cash and threw her from the car.
Sue told the Hull Daily Mail: “I was absolutely petrified. I really feared for my life as I didn’t have a clue what the two men were capable of.
“I didn’t know what they were going to do. I had no idea what mental state they were in or how far they were willing to go to get my money and my car. It was terrifying.” After she was dragged from the car, the assailant got in and reversed along Woburn Avenue, crashing into a bollard as he travelled at speed.
He then spun around the purple Citroen Picasso and accelerated off before abandoning the car minutes later on a nearby street. Once composed, Ms Davey called 999. After the attack, Ms Davey was met by a fellow taxi driver who had been alerted to the incident after she pressed the panic button.
Ms Davey added: “All the cabbies I work with, and even some that work for other firms, have been really fantastic.”