TWO INJURED IN EAST SIDE YELLOW TAXI ACCIDENT

The driver of a yellow taxi and his passenger were injured after he lost control of his cab and smashed into the glass storefront of an East Side eyewear store.

Witnesses reported that the taxi was speeding before it jumped a curb and crashed into the Optyx optical shop at Second Avenue and East 14th Street.  Both the driver and his passenger were taken to Beth Israel Hospital for treatment of their injuries.

Witnesses also said that the speeding cab narrowly avoided hitting a woman standing on the curb near the shop.  Police said that the cab driver had received several summonses in the past, but did not specify the nature of those citations.

In a recent investigative report, The New York Post examined Taxi & Limousine Commission records for 16 fatal or serious accidents in 2009 and found that only two of the drivers involved in those accidents had their licenses revoked.  The Post story noted that a revoked license could be reinstated in as little as three years and that taxi drivers involved in fatal accidents can be back on the street in a single day if they are not charged with a crime.

Unbelievably, the TLC does not currently track accident data on drivers, although it said that it may soon do so as it comes under greater pressure to institute safety practices under Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero program.