Make sure your taxi safety camera is working 

 Like the taxi industry and the broader community, the Victorian Taxi Directorate (VTD) was shocked and saddened by the tragic death of cabbie Stephen Seymour.

Mr Seymour's death is an extreme example of the dangers that taxi drivers face all too often, and focuses attention on what can be done to keep drivers safe.

Safety cameras are one of the most important elements of driver safety. Not only do they deter violence, they also assist Victoria police identify and catch those responsible for attacks against drivers.

As you may have heard, the VTD was unable to view images of the circumstances of Mr Seymour's death or the events leading up to it.

However, this was not due to the camera being damaged or destroyed by the subsequent collision of the taxi into a power pole. The camera in Mr Seymour's taxi survived the impact of the collision and the subsequent fire which engulfed the vehicle. Images from the new taxi cameras will survive such events.

The VTD was unable to recover crucial images because the camera system ceased working some 12 hours before the incident when the camera lost power. However, the VTD was able to recover images of more than 72 hours of taxi operation up to the time the camera lost power.

Experts from the camera manufacturer, VerifEye, have confirmed that the loss of power was the result of the failure of an individual component within the camera system and was completely unrelated to (and, in fact, occurred well before) the taxi collided with the power pole.

The implication of the loss of power on the camera unit was that the red and green indicator lights were also without power and therefore no indicator lights were showing at all. These indicator lights are the fail safe mechanism which must be used by drivers and operators to ensure that the camera is properly working.
It has been established that the camera was not working and the LED indicators correctly displayed this status. Accordingly, we can only conclude that this was either not picked up during the inspection of the vehicle between shifts, or ignored.

This reinforces the need for drivers and operators to ensure their safety camera is operating correctly at all times.

Checking whether your camera is working is easy: know where the camera status indicator light is located (usually low on the dash to the right of the steering column) and look for the green light.

If you can see a green flashing light, the camera is operating correctly. If you see a red light or just as importantly, no light at all, the camera is not working and you must not carry passengers.

This is true of every safety camera, in every taxi, at all times.
The VTD launched an inspection operation shortly after the incident specifically targeting taxis fitted with the new cameras. More than 300 taxis have been checked so far. Every taxi that displayed a green indicator light was found to be recording real time footage at the time of the inspection.

A small number of taxis with the new camera (less than 3 per cent of all cameras checked) where found to be not operating correctly and in each case the cameras were either displaying a red light or no lights at all.

It is illegal to operate a taxi fitted with a camera system that is not fully functional. Fines and rectification notices have been issued to those taxi operators found to have cameras not working properly.

The VTD remains confident in the quality and reliability of the next-generation (2009 specification) taxi safety camera systems currently being installed in Victoria's taxi fleet.

Operators in metropolitan, outer suburban and urban taxi-cab zones are reminded that the deadline for compliance with licence conditions requiring the installation of next-generation taxi safety cameras is 30 September 2012.

In country areas, operators are encouraged to install cameras to provide a safer workplace for their drivers and taxi passengers. In response to a recommendation by the Taxi Industry Inquiry, the VTD will shortly commence a cost-benefit assessment on the mandatory installation of safety cameras in country taxis operating in larger cities and towns in regional Victoria.

For more information on taxi safety camera requirements, contact the VTD on 1800 555 677.

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