SAFETY FIRST: Mayor Bloomberg and TLC Commissioner David Yassky show how taxi passengers can take safety into their own laps. (
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They’re driving taxi officials crazy.
About 65 percent of yellow-cab passengers don’t bother to buckle up, the Taxi and Limousine Commission said yesterday, announcing that it’s running ads on taxis’ backseat monitors to convince riders to use the safety devices.
Statistics show that 90 percent of people use seat belts in private vehicles.
Why are people more likely to trust their lives to strangers?
Ben Perreira, 19, of the Lower East Side, admitted he’d be embarrassed to buckle up in front of pals.
“I have never worn a seat belt in a taxi in my entire life,” he said.
“I feel like I’d get judged by my friends. I wear a seat belt in a regular car but never in a taxi.’’
Others approach the taxi seat-belt issue on a ride-by-ride basis.
“I only wear a seat belt when I feel like the guy is driving like a maniac,” said Modi Rosenfeld, 40, of the Lower East Side. “That’s one out of every three or four times.”
The video messages feature TLC head David Yassky, who says, “Some of the safest drivers in the world are behind the wheel of New York City taxicabs.
“But accidents do still happen, and more than half of all passengers don’t buckle up. We want you to make it to your destination without any bumps or bruises.”
In 2009, the latest year for which relevant statistics are available, there were 4,093 accidents involving cabs with roughly 1,500 light to moderate injuries.
Only 41 percent of passengers involved in those smash-ups reported that they were wearing seat belts, according to the TLC.
Some passengers said the ads won’t make any difference.
Ron Schwager, 27, of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, said “I always turn off the taxi TV, so I’ll never see the ads.
“I never wear my seat belt in a taxi. I didn’t even know they had seat belts.
“I’m more concerned about the driver thinking I’m a tourist and ripping me off.’’
Allie Maltese, 28, of Bensonhurst, at least left herself open to being convinced to buckle up.
“I never wear my seat belt in a taxi. It’s never occurred to me to do it,’’ she said.
“I don’t notice that they’re there.’’
But, she said, “I think the ads will be good. People should always wear their seat belts.
“Taxi drivers are dangerous.”