By Gus Saltonstall
UPDATE: 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23: A driver of a taxi cab is in stable condition after his car overturned Tuesday on the Upper West Side, according to police and an eyewitness.
The taxi ended up flipped onto its side around 12:30 p.m. near the corner of Broadway and West 77th Street, a photo shows.
The taxi was traveling southbound on Broadway near 77th Street, when the 79-year-old driver lost control of the vehicle and struck the Broadway median, a police spokesperson told West Side Rag. The collision caused the cab to overturn, NYPD added.
There were no other vehicles involved in the accident, and police said it was unclear why the driver lost control of his cab. The taxi did not have a passenger at the time of the crash.
Despite the significant damage to the car, the 79-year-old driver was removed from the vehicle and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition, with just a minor injury to his back, NYPD said.
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holy moly
Should a 79 year old be driving a taxi cab? When was their last driving test?
He has as much right to drive a cab as you do to post your opinion on this forum.
He’s lucky he didn’t kill someone. I live two blocks from that intersection. He shouldn’t be on the road. Unsafe drivers don’t have a right to put the rest of our lives at risk. I cannot for the life of me understand some of the radical pro-car opinions people have.
And you know all of this how exactly? Answer: You don’t. Slow down and wait for FACTS to come out. I live near that intersection as well. As do hundred of thousands of others. That is irrelevant. And pro-car? Where did you get that from? You clearly have an agenda here, and are using this poor man to advance it. If it turns out that his age was a factor, then have at it. Until then, chill.
I always pray I don’t end up in court with WSR readers on the jury. I’d be sent to the gallows with some circumstantial evidence for sure
This particular driver has racked up 31 violations in the space of 3 years, including 12 speeding through school zones and 3 failures to stop for red lights. I think we can all agree that such a reckless driver should not be on our streets.
To verify for yourself, just visit HowsmydrivingNY(dot)nyc, input in the license plate and that it is a medallion vehicle.
How do you know the medallion/cab owner was the driver? Because that is not always the case.
Wow, and this is only the violations he’s been ticketed for, probably a lot more where there wasn’t a red light or speed camera!
I’ve noticed drivers running red lights frequently on the UWS, usually as they floor it when the light is turning from yellow to red – only to hit the red at the next block… extremely unsafe behavior in such a heavily pedestrian neighborhood.
And you see this only on the UWS?
A 19-year old shouldn’t be driving either. Especially when you compare the crash statistics of these two ages…
19-year olds don’t drive taxis.
Why don’t people look this stuff up? You absolutely can drive a taxi at 19. I drove for a year and I was about that age, maybe 20. From the TLC website…
Application Requirements
Applicants must:
Be at least 19 years of age
Have a current chauffeur license or New York State class A, B, C, or E issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, or equivalent from any other state. Holders of Non-New York State Department of Motor Vehicles licenses must submit a certified state driving record from their state no more than 90 days before filing the application.
79 might possibly be just a tad too old to be in the driver’s seat — whereas 78, as about half the nation would surely agree, is perfectly fine.
Are you referring politely to Donald Trump?
Neil Young can drive me anywhere he wants.
Ha!
Have to be going pretty fast to flip like that… Was he trying to speed through the light?
Glad no one else appears to be injured.
Actually, no. Low-speed rollovers are surprisingly common. Here’s an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ-eGFt1B7U. Google “low speed rollover” for more examples. The fact that pretty much everyone nowadays is driving a truck or SUV with a higher center of gravity doesn’t help, of course.
I’m glad the driver is ok. However I won’t be comfortable with a 79-year old driving a cab in the city.
There’s a big difference driving at this age for personal needs, on the roads close and familiar for year. It is completely different to drive professionally especially in NYC.
Can WSR follow up with taxi and limousine commission to see how they insure their riders’ safety? Age limit, driving/vision tests frequency?
The photo shows the taxi on its side, not upside-down as reported. Was it manually turned after it flipped?
The article says “The taxi ended up flipped onto its side around 12:30 p.m.”
It was corrected.
Amazing how fast we assume that the cab driver, because he’s 79, had impaired cognitive skills causing him to crash. We don’t know why he crashed, maybe someone ran a light and hit him. And why would anyone think that a man who most likely drives 8-10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, couldn’t pass a driving test? If he had problems that made him an unsafe driver, they would have surfaced by now.
The problems have indeed surfaced as evidenced by the driver’s history of traffic violations. Of course, the city does nothing to get dangerous drivers off the roads.
1) If someone ran a red light and hit him, the other car would have been visible right there.
2) The city is does nothing about even the most obviously unsafe drivers. This car ran a red light yesterday in front of me – https://www.howsmydrivingny.nyc/kke7825
He has 18 speeding violations in school zones and he’s still driving (and for some reason the city is giving him a discount on his tickets!) The truth is there is basically nothing a driver can do that will result in getting them off the road.
Maybe I’m slow, but is the guy you’re referring to the same driver who flipped over the taxi on the UWS yesterday?
I agree with you on all counts. I’ve spoken to several men (and a woman) who are driving cabs in their late 70’s in order to supplement their SS income. They all grew up in the city and know their way around. I hope there will be more details forthcoming.
it is admirable that they want to supplement their income, Did they pass the driving and vision test before doing that? I wouldn’t want to get into a taxi driven by a senior citizen if they didn’t pass their test before doing that and are still using their old license with the last driving test of decades ago. This is not ageism, just a reasonable requirement.
From the DMV website… “You must pass a vision test when you apply for a driver license or to renew your license. The test must show that you have visual acuity of at least 20/40 (based on the Snellen Visual Acuity Scale) in either or both eyes, with or without corrective lenses. ” Therefore, this driver has passed a vision test within the past few years.
I hate to tell you, but the driving test today is the same sorry driving test that was given decades ago. It qualifies you to begin to be a driver, not to actually be a good one.
Wouldn’t the taxi have been traveling southbound on Broadway? 77th Street runs east-west. (Just doing some unsolicited editing here.)
According to one comment below, this driver had 31 violations in 3 years. Whether he’s 79 or 39, he does not belong on any road. How the heck does he hit the median and flip like that, unless he was doing about 50 MPH. Get him off the streets, now!
I’m not excusing reckless driving, but the violations may not tell the whole story. I know it doesn’t take much to get a speeding ticket in a school zone. You can be going 36mph in a 25mph zone, at ANY time of the day or night.
It’s actually super easy to avoid getting a speeding ticket (at least from one of the automated cameras). Just don’t speed. If you’re forgetful about the 25mph limit in the city (I know that I am at times), most cars nowadays come with a feature that reminds you if you exceed a preset speed. If yours doesn’t have that, there are many smartphone apps that will let you know if you’re exceeding the speed limit.
If a taxi driver cannot remember locations of stationary school zone speed cameras and is not able to adjust his speed, he is not fit for the job.
It is very easy to avoid speeding fines in NYC. It is much harder when speed limits are enforced by police.
I have been in one serious cab wreck in my life. It was going northerly at W. 122nd and Amsterdam. This driver was 77 years old. We went right through a red light and were hit on the side by a car. We were a little banged up but could still talk as we waited for the ambulance. I asked the driver what happened. He said that a high truck was right in front of him and blocked the red light. There were red lights on all 4 corners of that intersection!