Taxi drivers worry about rock throwing

A local taxi operator says it is only a matter of time before someone is killed after four vehicles were targeted by rock throwers in a recent attack described as the worst in two years.

Chinatown Taxis and Pearl Town Taxis lessee Warren Wallace said his drivers had been subjected to a vicious attack during their night shift on October 3 when a “barrage” of rocks was hurled at their vehicles.

“We had seven windows smashed within an hour which effectively took four cars off the road; one of those was the wheelchair taxi” he said.

“It was just out of control. It was like a mob attack.”

Mr Wallace said this was the worst incident he had seen in his two years with the company and feared it could have resulted in a fatality.

“If you’ve got a rock the size of a golf ball or bigger being hurled at a vehicle and the vehicle’s travelling somewhere between 20 and 60kmh and it hits somebody, it’s going to kill them.”

He said the impact on the community relying on taxi services was immeasurable, especially for individuals requiring access to wheelchair taxis.

The frustrated operator said the recent attack had cost the company thousands of dollars in repairs and out of pocket expenses and said it was time for the community to support the police and taxi industry in stopping the youths he claimed were responsible.

“People know who are doing this,” he said.

“The broader community need to step up, help the police address this and either talk to them, try and get them to stop doing it and if they don’t, they need to go to the authorities and get their help because there’s no win here for anybody.”

Mr Wallace said perpetrators should also be publicly identified.

“If the parents and relatives of the children that are doing this are not going to step up and take responsibility, then someone’s got to and the only way you’re going to do it is by making arrests and naming and shaming,” he said.

“The taxi industry is an essential service; if we went on strike tomorrow, the community would suffer massively.”

Broome Police Senior Sergeant Brendon Barwick said police were mindful of the incidents because they were also subjected to random acts of rock throwing. He said anyone caught in the act would be charged and put before the judicial system.