The panic button application, implemented due to the increase in theft, robbery, injury, and death incidents targeting taxi drivers, began to be widely used in taxis as of June 2024.
Dr. Gamze Kağan, Head of the Occupational Health and Safety Program, evaluating the safety and psychological effects of panic buttons installed in commercial taxis, stated: “Activating the panic button in taxis during any negative event, or in case of any risk to the health or safety of the taxi driver or passenger, and the intervention of the nearest assistance teams, is crucial for both taxi driver and passenger safety.”
Dr. Gamze Kağan, Head of the Occupational Health and Safety Program at Uskudar University Vocational School of Health Services, evaluated the security and psychological effects of panic buttons installed in commercial taxis by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Stating that this system is an important step for the safety of taxi drivers and passengers, Dr. Kağan said, “The ‘panic button’ recently widely implemented by the IMM in commercial taxis has been an important step for occupational safety in the taxi industry. Thus, activating the panic button in taxis during any negative event, or in case of any risk to the health or safety of the taxi driver or passenger, and the intervention of the nearest assistance teams, is crucial for both taxi driver and passenger safety.”
How effective will the panic button be against attacks?
Evaluating how effective the panic button application could be in preventing attacks against taxi drivers, Dr. Gamze Kağan said, “It is stated that when the panic button is pressed, 'TAKSİ S.O.S' illuminates, and law enforcement units and 153 Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality are notified. Upon notification, the nearest teams, whether police or gendarmerie, arrive at the scene and intervene. The swift intervention of the nearest security forces could be a very effective measure against attacks.”
The impact of measures on the sense of security…
Referring to the impact of such measures on the sense of security, Dr. Gamze Kağan stated, “When we look at the psychological effects of this application on taxi drivers and passengers, it makes both feel safe. However, if the taxi driver or passenger believes this button is useless or ineffective, we can say it will have a neutral effect. At this point, if a passenger or taxi driver has experienced no intervention when this button was activated, this situation would have a negative psychological impact. Therefore, the intervention of this button must work well, and there should be no incidents suggesting it is ineffective.”
Solutions for false alarms!
Addressing the possibility of the panic button being pressed accidentally, Dr. Gamze Kağan continued:
“Even if the panic button is pressed by mistake, a system has been set up to dispatch a police team to the scene. If there is a real problem, pressing the panic button will result in police or gendarmerie intervention at the scene. However, continuous accidental pressing of the wrong button by police or gendarmerie will cause security forces to be needlessly occupied. Therefore, some extra security measures could be taken, such as sending a second notification for a false press or remotely monitoring the scene. As stated, when the button is pressed, an alert goes to the call center, which checks through the taxi camera and then notifies the nearest security forces accordingly. If security forces are frequently called for intervention due to false presses, after a while, they might consider a real incident to be fake, leading to slow intervention and ineffectiveness. For these reasons, it is seen that supporting the panic button system with various other systems such as vehicle tracking and in-car camera systems would be better.”
What happens when the panic button is pressed?
Explaining that, according to the statements, when the driver presses the panic button, the signal will be transmitted to the call center, and the panic button will also activate the camera above the driver's screen, transferring the situation inside the taxi to the alarm center, Dr. Gamze Kağan said, “The alarm center will notify the nearest law enforcement unit where the taxi is located, ensuring intervention within a maximum of 15 minutes.”
Taxi drivers should be trained for effective technology use…
Dr. Gamze Kağan also stated that it is important for taxi drivers to benefit from evolving technology for occupational safety and to make these technological systems a legal requirement in all taxis. She concluded, “Furthermore, to ensure the effective and efficient use of these technological applications, providing training and awareness programs to taxi drivers on this matter is also of particular importance. It is also crucial to provide training to taxi drivers on how to protect themselves against dangerous individuals, even in the event that technological devices fail to work.”
