On Friday the Taxi and Limousine Commission began enforcing more strict rules and penalties for cab drivers who use hands-free cell phones or any electronic device capable of making non-emergency phone calls or texting, as well as music players and GPS locators. To make drivers comply, the TLC put enforcement agents outside Grand Central Terminal to check cabs as they drove past. By yesterday morning, a total of 142 summonses had been issued by TLC agents. Fox 5, on the other hand, sent a reporter on repeated cab rides and didn't find a single driver using an electronic device.
One driver who was caught in the sting, Inderjit Parihar, vented his outrage to the Post: "I'm not even using a cellphone! It's an iPod! They just want to bother us. I wasn't even playing it." Parihar was issued a summons for $200 and is required to take a "refresher course" on the rules. If he's caught using a device while driving again, he'll face a 30-day suspension. A third violation within 15 months will result in the loss of his license.
Hacks have complained bitterly about the new rules, with many insisting the phones are necessary for emergencies. The TLC argues that in the case of an emergency, drivers should pull over to use the phone. TLC chief Matt Daus tells the Post, "We didn't want to hammer the drivers. We wanted to go out in front of it and warn them. It's not about money or numbers."
