Drivers in fear as cabs bombarded

Jessica Benton
A spate of drive-by attacks and vandalism has left Geelong taxi drivers fearing for their lives, according to operators.
They have accused a group of children running wild after dark of bombarding their vehicles with objects including bricks, leaving drivers shaken and out-of-pocket for the damage to their taxis.
Driver Tanya Tulloh said the attacks had flared over the past few weekends.
“It’s becoming a bit of a regular thing on Friday and Saturday nights lately where a number of taxis have copped large stones, rocks and even bricks being thrown at the vehicles,” she said.
“I’m one of the lucky ones, I’ve only had a small amount of damage but one taxi had to replace the bonnet and another the windscreen.”
Ms Tulloh said the night-time attacks were targeting taxis on a “regular basis” along the Bellarine Highway inbound between Wilsons and Boundary roads.
Witnesses believed the culprits were a “group of kids”, she said.
“From what I’ve heard it’s a group of kids, but by the time drivers can actually do a U-turn to go back, they’re well gone,” Ms Tulloh said.
“We’ve reported the incidents to the police but they can’t stake out any particular area because the kids seem to move around.”
Ms Tulloh said most of the targeted taxis were privately owned, which meant high excess charges for insurance claims.
“Because we’re private owners the excess comes out of our pockets,” she said.
“Taxi excess has gone up recently and now depends on driver performance. It could be anything up to $5000.”
Ms Tulloh said she feared it was only a matter of time before someone was badly injured.
She wanted more done to protect drivers.
“It’s become a sport among these teenagers and it’s happening virtually every weekend,” she said
“I don’t think anybody’s been hurt yet but it’s only a matter of time. It still gives you an awful damn fright.”
The alleged attacks follow a spate of violence against Geelong and Melbourne taxi drivers.
Two teens were charged over an alleged assault of Geelong taxi driver in December, which left the Indian driver with a fractured eye socket.
Safety shields and photo identification systems were trialed in Geelong earlier this year to improve driver safety.
Geelong Taxi Network’s Peter Valentine said he was aware of some of the latest incidents.
“We’ve had them in the northern suburbs, one in the western suburbs and a couple that I’m aware of near the Bellarine Highway,” he said.
“What I’m scared about is that we haven’t had anybody injured yet. Some of the used materials could be potentially fatal.”
Mr Valentine said taxi operators had developed a protocol with Victoria Police to address attacks on drivers’ vehicles.
A police spokesperson reported an “incident” at an overpass on the Princes Highway but no one was charged.
He urged witnesses or taxi drivers to contact police about the alleged attacks.