The last few days have been difficult for local cab drivers after one of their own was shot and killed on the job last Sunday, 55-year old Sami Amin.
Now, a driver for the Reno-Sparks Cab Company is pushing for more safety protocols.
"Our boss is really concerned about our safety for the Yellow and Reno Sparks Cab fleets," said Richard Schiernbeck.
He's been driving taxis for about 18 years. He says he feels safe driving for Reno-Sparks Cab with security cameras and GPS navigation-trackers installed in each cab.
"Tracks our cabs second-by-second, so that our dispatch knows where we are, and what we're doing at any given time."
They have a button to push if they feel their personal safety is being compromised. It would send out an alert to their dispatch center and the entire fleet of taxis on the location of the affected cab. For safety reasons, Schiernbeck could not show how it exactly works.
"We're not at liberty, of course, to discuss exactly where that button is at, but we do have them, and we feel safe in our cabs, while we're out here working."
Sami Amin's cab did not have a camera when he was shot and killed on Sunday. So, Schiernbeck has started a petition for the next legislative session that he hopes will require all cab companies across Nevada to have cameras and GPS trackers. The petition also suggests including alerting the police if the safety button is pushed. Schiernbeck is looking to call it the Sami Amin Bill.
"I am just going to go around and get as many signatures as I can. Then, I'll mail off the petitions to the state senators and assemblymen."
