title: Effectiveness of taxicab security equipment in reducing driver homicide rates.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Taxicab drivers historically have had one of the highest work-related homicide rates of any occupation. In 2010 the taxicab driver homicide rate was 7.4 per 100,000 drivers, compared to the overall rate of 0.37 per 100,000 workers.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate the effectiveness of taxicab security cameras and partitions on citywide taxicab driver homicide rates.
  
  
  METHODS
  Taxicab driver homicide rates were compared in 26 major cities in the U.S. licensing taxicabs with security cameras (n=8); bullet-resistant partitions (n=7); and cities where taxicabs were not equipped with either security cameras or partitions (n=11). News clippings of taxicab driver homicides and the number of licensed taxicabs by city were used to construct taxicab driver homicide rates spanning 15 years (1996-2010). Generalized estimating equations were constructed to model the Poisson-distributed homicide rates on city-specific safety equipment installation status, controlling for city homicide rate and the concurrent decline of homicide rates over time. Data were analyzed in 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cities with cameras experienced a threefold reduction in taxicab driver homicides compared with control cities (RR=0.27; 95% CI=0.12, 0.61; p=0.002). There was no difference in homicide rates for cities with partitions compared with control cities (RR=1.15; 95% CI=0.80, 1.64; p=0.575).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Municipal ordinances and company policies mandating security cameras appear to be highly effective in reducing taxicab driver deaths due to workplace violence.
authors.affiliation: Analysis and Field Evaluations Branch, Morgantown, West Virginia. Electronic address: CMenendez@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Cammie K C
authors.initials: CKC
authors.lastname: Menéndez
authors.affiliation: Analysis and Field Evaluations Branch, Morgantown, West Virginia.
authors.forename: Harlan E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Amandus
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.
authors.forename: Parisa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Damadi
authors.affiliation: Division of Safety Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Aspen of DC, Inc, Morgantown, West Virginia.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Analysis and Field Evaluations Branch, Morgantown, West Virginia.
authors.forename: Srinivas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Konda
authors.affiliation: Analysis and Field Evaluations Branch, Morgantown, West Virginia.
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hendricks
mesh_terms: D001334:Automobile Driving; D006708:Homicide / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012637:Security Measures; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014741:Video Recording; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017132:Workplace