Iqaluit bylaw officer put taxi driver in harm’s way?

I am writing this letter concerning an issue I had when my taxi was pulled over last month for speeding.

I am not writing to dispute the the ticket, but am very upset by the dangerous situation that I was put in.

At approximately 1:00 a.m. my car was loaded with four drunk, abusive passengers when I was pulled over to speak to the bylaw officer.

I was approximately 100 metres from the Elks and they were trying to get there before last call. After speaking to the bylaw officer, I asked him if I could just drop off my passengers at the Elks, just 100 metres away and then I would wait there until I was issued a ticket.

He refused.

I was instructed to wait there with the now very angry, drunk, abusive customers. I flashed my lights and tried to get his attention, but he did not return to the vehicle. I took approximately 20 minutes fro him to return with the ticket.

My customers took off after about 15 minutes of yelling and cursing at me, so I lost some of the money that was owed to me as well as a good $40 to $50 that could have been made at that very busy time of night.

Again, I am not objecting to the ticket itself, but cannot comprehend why it would take this amount of time to write it, and why I could not drop the passengers off beforehand, especially as we were about 100 metres from the Elks.

When the customers are drunk, angry and rushing to make it before last call, and I need to sit there for 20 minutes, you are placing me in a very dangerous situation.

I spent the entire time trying to deal with them and calm them down. I tried to get the bylaw officer’s attention, to explain that things were getting out of hand, but he ignored me.

I have been driving a taxi in Iqaluit for many years, have been physically and verbally attacked very often, and do not believe that anyone else should be placed in such a dangerous situation.

Furthermore, I am upset by the loss of money from the customers taking off, and the loss of income due to the length of time it took to write the ticket.

Additionally, if I had been permitted to drop off the passengers before being issued a ticket, it would have caused any harm to anyone. It’s not like my home and work address are not known.

A policy should be place that a taxi driver be permitted to drop off drunk, violent customers first, after talking to the bylaw officer, before being made to sit and wait for a ticket, especially if it will take 20 minutes to write.

If I had been physically assaulted by one of the customers at the time, I would certainly be seeking compensation from the bylaw officer for placing me in such a dangerous situation.

Abokaker Amar
Iqaluit

(Because of attempts to post racist remarks, comments for this letter are now closed.)

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