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

  • US pedestrian deaths fall but still high
    November 26, 2024
    According to analysis from the Governors Highway Safety Association - GHSA – annual US pedestrian traffic deaths fell for first time since the pandemic, but are still above the pre-pandemic level.
    Read More
  • Cats on the road
    January 27, 2017
    In the UK town of Dartford a driver’s dashcam caught footage of a clever cat using a pedestrian crossing. The driver saw the animal waiting to cross and stopped, with an oncoming vehicle doing the same. With the feline safely across, both cars were then able to proceed. Meanwhile elsewhere in the UK, a cat had a very lucky escape after being rescued from a van’s engine bay. The driver had been at the wheel for around three hours when he heard a curious noise emanating from the engine compartment. He stopp
    Read More
  • Pan-European enforcement of driving laws due
    August 27, 2013
    Agreements are being reached that will see Pan-European enforcement of driving regulations. Drivers will now face being penalised for any offences committed in other European countries. The change is due on 7th November 2013. After this date EU Member States will commence the cross border exchange of data relating to road traffic offences. For this scheme to work, eight offences have been listed in the data exchange programme. These are; speeding, not using a seatbelt, red light running, drink driving, driv
    Read More
  • UK average speed camera installation proving successful
    January 27, 2015
    Data from the A9 route in Scotland shows that the installation of average speed camera technology is helping cut crashes. This is Europe’s longest single enforcement scheme, with the technology having been installed along a 220km stretch of the A9 in Scotland. Figures from the route show that the average speed enforcement scheme, which uses SPECS technology supplied by Vysionics, is helping cut casualties while improving journey reliability and driver behaviour.
    Read More

Highlighted Content