Posted: April 3rd, 2015
Taxi drivers have started to install dashboard cameras to prevent fraudulent car accident claims according to a report in the Irish Mirror.
The report alleges that a significant number of fraudulent car accident claims have been made by members of the public who have deliberately walked in front of – or thrown themselves in front of – slow moving vehicles in Dublin City Centre, in areas where they are sure of not sustaining a serious injury due to the low speed limits.
One taxi driver told the Irish Mirror: “I was almost caught out a few months ago when a man jumped off the pavement in O’Connell Street and landed in front of my taxi. I noticed a man weaving his way in and out of the crowds quite hastily and it just struck me it was suspicious so I started to slow and by the time he had thrown himself out in front of my taxi I had managed to slam on the brakes”.
The taxi driver has since bought a dashboard camera to avoid being held liable for fraudulent car accident claims in the future. He said: “Being on the road all day every day for the past 10 years I thought I had seen it all in terms of scams and dodgy claims ploys but this one takes the biscuit.”
Christy Humphreys from the National Private Hire and Taxi Association contributed to the story in the Irish Mirror by saying; “There’s a lot of this going on and drivers are terrified of falling victim to it. But drivers are reporting people now throwing themselves in front of taxis. Like there’s nearly too much going on to get your head around.”
The lobby group Insurance Ireland has also set up a special committee in a bid to tackle the issue and has identified six locations where there has been a spate of fraudulent car accident claims – the locations being Swords and Tallaght in Dublin, Galway, Cork, the Border region, and Ennis in County Clare.
Categories: Pedestrian Accidents, Taxi Accidents
