Safety Tips When Riding A Taxi
12 July, 2023
It’s often that you hear about crimes during a taxi ride. Although in big cities taxis are considered the most common choice of transport. Especially during the night when there is usually no other modes of transportation and taxis are the only choice. It would be better if you don’t travel alone in taxi at night, especially if you are a woman. Take a friend with the same destination with you
Online Taxi vs Conventional Taxi
Currently other than conventional taxis, there are also online taxis. Each of them has its own winning and losing factors, depending what meets your demand. Here are a few comparisons between online and conventional taxis:
- Tarif
Online transportation model gives you a certainty in tariff that must be paid right at the ordering process. This is considered as the appealing factor for consumers in choosing online transportation. - Promos
Online taxis give promo quite often, this is attractive for riders because they can take on a ride with discount, even sometimes free–depending on the distance. - The service and security
Currently these two modes of transportation provides almost similar services. But, considering the safety factor, conventional taxis are considered to me more safe because you know the company that manages the fleet. - Technology
The use of technology and application has been going on for quite a while, even before the existence on online transportation. But, this was not adopted earlier by the conventional transportation carriers, so when this technology finally hits the ground, the conventional transportation system is now left far behind. - Vehicle looks
Online transportation wins in this area. Since the vehicles used are the driver’s own or from a rental company, hence they don’t look like a public transportation. This thing gives the online transportation an added value because it makes an attractive factor for some level of users.
Also read: Tips for Eliminating Eye Strain When Driving
Tips for Safe Journey in Taxi
There is no solid guarantee for security, be it online or conventional. You are the one who needs to be extra cautious in selecting the kind of transportation you need. Here are a few tips that you can do to make your journey safe, especially when you are a woman riding a taxi:
- For conventional taxis, there is an image among the society that a particular brand of taxi fleet is more safe compared to the others. This can be your consideration when making a choice.
- For online taxis: before getting on the car make sure the plate number and the type of car match the description in the application. Check on the driver by calling the mobile number, you are even encouraged to call the number in front of him/her.
- When you open the door pay attention whether the child lock is activated or not. Suppoe it is, then cancel it, because maybe the driver is purposely trying to lock you from the inside. But, if you insist of getting into the car, turn off the child lock, so you can still open the door from the inside.
- Cek the back seat before getting into the car by pulling it upwards, it it moves then cancel the ride, who knows there might be somebody hiding in the trunk and planning on attacking the passenger.
- Try to get into the car from the right side (if possible), because this will help you in reassuring the safety,
- If you think the car is safe enough, sit behind the driver for the following reasons:
- So that the driver cannot easily checking on you.
- So that you have enough time to hold on or runaway if the driver started to show suspicious behaviour such as robbery, because the position will delay him from reaching you.
- There is a tool in the car that you can use as an arm, that is the driver’s seatbelt–it may hold his movement or you can even force him to stop the car.
- For conventional taxis: before closing the door, check on the driver’s ID, if they do not match then cancel your plan on taking the ride. When you thik it is safe, then the next step is to take a picture of the taxi number, send it to your relatives or friends, if need be also send your location.
For online taxi: When you thik it is safe, then the next step is to screen-capture your order, send it to your relatives or friends, if need be also send your location.
- Currently all cameras can snap a picture or record a video, if you feel the need, tell the driver that you want to picture or record his face. If the driver has bad intention, he would refuse to do it, and prefer no to take your order, that means you are safe.
Also read: Driving and Parking
All the above tips will only take less than 3 minutes. Make some time for you to do the above tips so that your ride is always safe and you may reach your destination securely. Private vehicle is not the only mode of transportation that can give you security, but of course everyone wants the preferred mode of transportation to give the security and comfort, right?
