Violent attack on driver raises safety concerns

A taxi driver was violently assaulted in South Auckland in the early hours of April 17 by a group of teenagers.

It is the second attack on a driver in the past two weeks. On April 7, a Wellington taxi driver was brutally attacked by a man who followed him to Wellington Airport about 1am.

The two attacks prompted a call from the NZ Taxi Federation to call for the government to continue to make security alarms and cameras in taxis compulsory.

‘‘If a driver gets into trouble [the panic alarm] is the only way he or she can call for help,’’ said John Hart, the federation’s executive director.

In March, the government proposed removing the requirement for taxis to have 24/7 monitored dur- ess alarms.

In the Monday night incident an alarm activated by a taxi driver helped scare off three teens who attacked him as he waited outside the Southmall carpark in Manurewa about midnight.

The group demanded money and the driver was repeatedly beaten around the head, federation executive director John Hart said.

Police were called to the scene and the driver was taken to Middlemore Hospital with moderate injuries, Inspector Adam Pyne said.

‘‘If a driver gets into trouble [the panic alarm] is the only way he or she can call for help.’’