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Call Sign asks DaC driver Natalia Shalom A recent press release from LTI regarding Manchester taxi driver Julie McColgan and her views on women driving taxis and feeling safe in her TX4, reminded us of the fact that London seems to have more and more female taxi drivers, with quite a few on Dial-a-Cab. Julie once come close to being raped, stabbed and shot by her passengers and says she is now thankful for the TX4 with its strong central partition that divides the driver and passenger compartment. So Call Sign asked one of our younger female drivers, 22-year old Natalia Shalom (A34) whether she agreed with her Manchester counterpart? "I drive a TX4," said Natalia, "and I agree with Julie 100%. I value the security and safety it provides, while the central partition is crucial to the job as it provides both added peace of mind and protection. The vehicle's intercom system provides all the communication with passengers that you need and open partitions just are just not necessary any more. In addition, the overriding door locking |
FEMALE TAXI DRIVERS AND SAFETY? |
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 DaC driver Natala Shalom and her TX4 |
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system allows the driver –
especially females - to secure passengers whose behaviour is suspicious."
Like Julie, Natalia would never drive a car as a taxi. "Not in a million years," she told this magazine, "you could be attacked so easily with no partition. Anyone could just grab you from behind. While I haven’t had anything like the awful attack Julia faced, but I have had a few scary people in the cab. One male passenger insisted on sitting on the tip-up seat while looking to see how he could |
open the partition! Of course he couldn’t – but it
does make you wonder about people like that."
Natalia has been on DaC for over a year now and will still not be 23 until the end of May! She got her licence in July 2007 and came to DaC just a few weeks later. Not only does she believe that the TX4 is a great safety provider, but she also says that being on Dial-a-Cab is an added safety feature. "I work well into the early hours and I knew that it would be much safer to be on radio," Natalia told Call Sign |
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Icons of F1 meet icons of London - DaC! |
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Lewis Hamilton, 2008
Formula 1 World Champion and Mika Hakkinen, twice F1
World Champion, were out in London just before Christmas driving
iconic London taxis. Both of them were reinforcing the
Johnnie Walker anti drink-drive campaign - a global
one and not just for Christmas. When questioned about the drive,
Lewis Hamilton told reporters that it had been exciting,
fulfilling an ambition of his to drive a London taxi and that it
was only slightly less exciting than driving an F1car! Two
Dial-a-Cab drivers, Janet Fox (G35J) and Jim Rainbird
(T25), were on hand to offer words of encouragement! Lewis and Mikka drove the taxis - which had their DaC logos removed when Chairman Brian Rice wasn’t looking and liveried with the Never Drink and Drive campaign for the day – over Tower Bridge, around the Tower of London, across London Bridge and ended their drive at Potters Field by City Hall, where they were met by Mayor Boris Johnson. |
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 Lewis Hamilton wonders which way to go! Mika Hakkinen, the Johnnie Walker Responsible Drinking
Ambassador told us: |
Together with Andrew Morgan, President of Diageo
Europe who produce the
Johnnie Walker brand, and the road safety charity Brake, the message to drive home safety during the festive season and beyond was to dink responsibly and never drink and drive. Lewis Hamilton added: "Our message is simple; never drink and drive. If you are out celebrating use a designated driver, whether that is a taxi, bus, tube or train or a friend who doesn’t drink that evening." Then Jan and Jim quietly slipped back on their DaC logos before the Chairman had even noticed. Sandie Goodwin |
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