Support the Ban of Blacked-out Windows in Licensed Minicabs

The situation where a sexual predator can flick a switch and imprison a lone female in their PCO/TfL licensed minicab with blacked out windows, has got to come to an end. It’s as simple as that.

View video at http://youtu.be/6rCvnaOExIE

Many years ago, it was deemed unfitting for London’s licensed black cabs (Taxis) to have dark glass in the rear window. Reports of prostitutes using Taxis to service their clients “ twice round the outer circle, slowly driver” had been wildly exaggerated in the press, but the powers to be thought it enough reason to ban darken rear windows fitted in London's Taxis.

Over the past six years, we have seen the rise in use of PHV people carriers with black glass on rear and side windows. In the same period of time, there has been a shocking rise in the numbers of sexual assaults, including rapes, which is now running at 8-10 a month, (this is just the victims that report the crime, it is thought to be a much higher figure and its not just women that are being sexually attacked). Passengers have also been the victims of personal robberies, mainly women, have reported having phones, handbag's and other property taken whilst being held prisoner in these blacked out vehicles.

We have concerns that it is “unethical” that Private Hire Vehicles (Mini Cabs) have blacked out windows in the rear and side windows of their vehicles. Combined this with central locking, an attacker just flicks a switch and imprisons a lone female. No one is aware of this passenger’s dangerous predicament.

The responsibility of the Public Carriage Office should have been not to allow "Blacked out Windows" in Private Hire Vehicles in the first instance. However, lack of insight has and will continue to be detrimental to the travelling public, especially women late at night. Cost should not be an issue as in most cases these black windows are just a sheet of film applied to the vehicles glass