Hobart taxi driver left with damage bill after young man jumps on car, cracks winshield

A taxi driver has been left with a hefty damage bill after a young man launched himself onto the car’s bonnet - cracking the windscreen. Watch the moment it happened >

A taxi driver says he’s been left with a $1000 damage bill after a young person jumped on to the hood of his car in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Li Joy, who is also president of the Hobart Taxi Drivers Association, said he was on his way to pick up a passenger when he saw the young person approaching.

“He jumped on to the cab and smashed the windscreen,” Mr Joy said.

“He was in the middle of the road so I stopped completely.

Taxi drivers protesting outside the Hobart Police Station in Liverpool St in 2018. Li Joy. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE.

“[After the incident] he was waiting about 20m away … there was a girl trying to calm him down.

“They fled in a car.”

The incident left the vehicle with damage to the front of the car, which Mr Joy will have to pay for.

“The windscreen is damaged, I’ll have to remove the cameras and reinstall,” Mr Joy said.

“In this case, $1000 has to go from the pocket.”

Mr Joy said taxi drivers deal with risk as part of the job.

“Taxi drivers are an easy target … in 2017 I was badly assaulted by four of them (passengers),” Mr Joy said of a seperate incident.

“We’ve had similar incidents happen to taxi drivers.

“There’s a lot of risk involved, when people get violent it can be anytime, alcohol can be one reason.”

And he said when incidents did happen, often the drivers were left paying for the damage.

“Minimal insurance companies support taxi drivers and Uber, the excess amount is higher than normal costs,” Mr Joy said.

“Ninety per cent of the time taxi drivers just leave it.”

Originally published as Hobart taxi driver left with damage bill after young man jumps on car, cracks winshield