The driver of the livery cab Bob Simon was killed in, had nine previous license suspensions

[CreekDog]

Recommend wearing your seatbelt when you ride in a cab or car for hire, even when you ride in the back seat.

Also, the area where the crash happened has a 35 mph speed limit.

He had two fairly recent traffic convictions – speeding in Ulster County last September, and disobeying a traffic device in Manhattan in January of last year. Going back several years, he had nine license suspensions – all of which have been cleared.

For at least the last four months, Fedahi had been living at the HELP-USA homeless shelter on Wards Island. Three sources told CBS2 that Fedahi was injured years ago and lost the use of his left arm.

Investigators believe Fedahi was driving a 2010 Lincoln Town Car south on the highway when he brushed against a Mercedes Benz sedan driven by Zaq Miller, 23, of New Rochelle.

Miller told investigators Fedahi suddenly accelerated forward and hit a pedestrian protection bollard.

The Lincoln was so mangled that first responders had to cut away the roof and doors to reach Fedahi and Simon. The NYPD said Simon was not wearing a seat belt, and suffered fatal injuries when he was violently thrown from the back seat to the front of the car, CBS2’s Sonia Rincon reported.

He was found unconscious with injuries to his head and abdomen, police said. Sources told CBS2 he was in cardiac arrest when he was found.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/02/12/police-search-for-clues-in-crash-that-killed-60-minutes-correspondent-bob-simon/

[randys1]

1. But we have too much regulation, riiiiiiight

This is the kind of thing you would expect in an unregulated, 3rd world country

[Warpy]

2. Or Paris

Fancy cab, hired driver with problems, no belts worn in the back seat, fatality.

[randys1]

4. Di?

[MADem]

6. You'd get a better driver in a 3rd world country--competition is FIERCE.

Obviously, this guy managed to slide through the cracks despite all our regulation--and he probably isn't the best person suited to this job.

[randys1]

8. Competition doesnt always result in best person for the job

[MADem]

12. But often it does.

I had a driver in the Middle East from a car service near my home who was flat-out brilliant. He was skilled, careful enough when he needed to be, knew how to use the sidewalks in a traffic jam, knew how to make a fourth lane on a three lane highway, and he mixed in the appropriate amount of caution when it was called for. None of his co-workers at the same agency could hold a candle to him, which was why I asked for him exclusively. I paid him very well above and beyond his usual fees, which inclined him to be available when I needed him. We had a mutually beneficial relationship for over a year, until I moved house.

[CreekDog]

15. depends what the competition is for

if the competition is to see who will drive for the least amount of money, i guarantee you, you will not get a safer driver that way.

[alphafemale]

3. The idea of digging in that filth in a cab seat for a belt is appalling.

The companies should make them available for use at least.

You can ask to sit in the front seat if a belt is not available in the back.

[Beaverhausen]

7. He was in a Lincoln Town car, not a cab

[CreekDog]

10. i've never had trouble putting on a seat belt in cab or Town Car before

[philosslayer]

5. Maybe he should have called Uber

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. Or maybe he should've been wearing his seat belt

One in three licensed taxi drivers in NYC is a union member. As are a significant number of taxi drivers in other US cities (and in overseas cities where Uber operates). Uber drivers, as "independent contractors" are essentially scabs.

[philosslayer]

17. I was kidding

And I agree.

[CreekDog]

11. Uber is even less regulated than NYC's car services

[VMA131Marine]

13. I think it should be more of an absolute than a recommendation

Never go anywhere in a vehicle without wearing a seatbelt and never take a child in a vehicle without them being properly restrained in a car seat or booster seat appropriate for their age.

Since the driver of the Town Car was wearing a seatbelt and survived it seems a near certainty that Simon would also have survived if he'd been wearing his.

[lpbk2713]

14. How long before the next segment on 60 Minutes ...

No oversight on dangerous NYC cab and limo drivers.

[hunter]

16. I suspect this stinks in some way...

... even though I have no idea who Bob Simon was. I don't watch TV.

I do wear my seat belts in cabs, and I'm a little uncomfortable on buses and trains when there are no seatbelts.

On airliners I'm sweating the entire way, even on serious meds or drunk, belted down tightly, except when I really, really have to pee.