Skip to main content

Tourists' taxi tale of terror

A group of French tourists found that their recent trip to New York set their pulses racing a little more than they had expected. The tourists boarded a vehicle outside the Air France terminal at New York's JFK airport, unaware that this was an unlicensed cab.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 1 min
A group of French tourists found that their recent trip to New York set their pulses racing a little more than they had expected. The tourists boarded a vehicle outside the Air France terminal at New York's JFK airport, unaware that this was an unlicensed cab. As police attempted to stop the vehicle, it sped off with the tourists onboard. The police then followed in hot pursuit while the terrified tourists made repeated pleas to be let out. The van hit speeds of 100km/h as it raced along crowded residential streets, ran red lights and stop signs in an attempt to outrun the police. When the van finally crashed, the police were able to apprehend the driver and the vehicle's 'tout', while one of the tourists was slightly hurt by the crash. The driver and the tout face serious charges and possible prison sentences of up to seven years.

Related Content

  • Tears of a clown
    February 23, 2012
    A Canadian man now realises that wearing a clown suit and driving in a somewhat irregular fashion can attract the attention of the police. He has also come to realise that when a police car turns on its emergency lights, it is better to use the brakes to stop rather than to come to a halt by crashing into the police car.
  • Speedy cop
    June 27, 2016
    Cape Town’s police were left with red faces when a person stopped for illegal drag racing on the city’s streets turned out to be one of their own officers. A stretch of road in the city is used frequently for illegal drag racing, which the police in Cape Town are keen to crack down on due to concerns over safety. The officer has been given disciplinary charges by his employers as well as criminal charges over his dangerous driving.
  • UK roads get Acusensus phone-detection units
    July 25, 2023
    Australian road safety company Acusensu says that it has taken delivery of the first of three trailer units to be positioned stationary along selected highways in England.
  • Digital cameras and VMS improve London and Scottish road safety
    March 18, 2016
    London and Scotland are using VMS and digital cameras to successfully lower road deaths. Road safety measures such as variable message signs (VMS) and digital cameras have boosted road safety in the UK capital London and also in the Scottish Highlands. And the systems need not be a drain on electricity supplies. Full matrix driver information signs from SWARCO Traffic, one of the UK’s leading traffic management technology providers, are being installed for the first time across the Transport for London (TfL