Black cab drivers to get terror attack training

Black cab drivers across London will soon be trained to respond to terror attacks and medical emergencies. London’s 17,500 drivers will be taught how to deal with situations such as acid attacks, choking, strokes and severe bleeding. The new course has been developed by taxi hailing app mytaxi, with the aim of boosting their ‘health, safety and people skills’. The Knowledge+ programme will also require drivers to practise life-saving techniques such as CPR and the use of defibrillators. A recent survey revealed that cabbies felt they were increasingly stepping in for emergency services and facing dangerous situations. 71 per cent had taken passengers to hospital, while seven per cent said they had experienced customers having a stroke or heart attack. Fourteen said women had given birth in their cabs, and nearly 24 per cent said they had come to the aid of the public in a terrorist incident. Michelle Kerrigan, national partnerships manager for St John Ambulance, said: “Taxi drivers are increasingly first on the scene in an emergency, and we know that administering first aid in those crucial first few minutes can be the difference between life and death.” Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, said: “You can pretty much guarantee that whatever incident happens in London, a black cab will be at the scene or near by. "Professionalising their response is a brilliant way to help keep Londoners safe.”