Safety In Foreign Taxis

The vast majority of taxi owners are not suspicious and the overwhelming majority of taxi journeys pass without incident. However, there have been concerns at home and abroad, so it is worth taking fundamental safety steps. The added problem when using a taxi abroad, of course, is the language and cultural barrier.

The point of this piece is to make you aware of your safety whilst taking a taxi abroad, but these safety tips should be applied equally in your own country. Safety, especially personal safety, ought to be one of your foremost issues.

The first piece of advice is to take a taxi from a taxi rank. Do not take a taxi from a person who is touting his taxi service outside the airport or the train station. Most countries have a structure of organized taxi ranks, but there are always rogue taxi drivers attempting to by-pass the official system.

If there is no taxi rank enquire of one of the police, that can be seen standing in each public transport building. If that does not do any good, go into a hotel, restaurant or bar and request the proprietor to phone you a taxi. Before you get into the taxi, commit the registration number or number plate of the taxi to memory and write it down once you are inside the cab.

If you are arriving in the place from a long distance away, know the location of the building you want to visit. This is easily done by going to Google Earth, typing the location in and printing off the map. Then you know if you are being taken for a ride quite literally. Do not allow yourself to be taken anywhere you do not wish to go. Sit in the back so that you have the upper hand if you require it.

Hold you precious belongings near you, then if you have to make a dash for it, you will have your essentials and the details of the taxi that you wrote down earlier.

Does the car look like a taxi or does it look like someone’s personal car? You have more likelihood of being ripped off by a private hire car than a company with a boss and a license to lose. Most legitimate taxis will have the firm’s phone number written on them, so ask for a card or jot it down.

If you are travelling alone, try to share the taxi with another foreigner. Most foreigners are looking for a hotel to stay when they arrive, so this is not as hard as it may sound. Do not permit another local to share with you, because you do not know who they are – they could be a team.

Finally, do not step into a car that is in very bad condition. If the driver is on the level, the car will be clean and the windows and the door handles will work. Do not step into a car without internal door handles..

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with RX Safety Glasses. If you would like to know more, go to our site at Safety Glasses Bifocal

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