About a year ago, I wrote a couple of entries about taxi drivers who were whining complaining about having to pay to have cameras installed in their cabs despite the fact that they’ve been allowed to keep the difference between 7% and the current GST rate plus 5¢/fare to help offset the cost. This quickly adds up to the cost of installing one of the systems.

Since then, there have been a number of incidents in which these cameras have helped in the investigation of violence against cab drivers.

The most recent is a cabbie who was attacked by two guys who started arguing with the driver and attacked him when he was dropping them off at the corner of Elgin and Gladstone. According to the CBC, the taxi cab camera helped police identify the two men who subsequently surrendered to police 4 days after the attack took place.

They’re both charged with aggravated assault and one guy is also charged with two counts of breaching probation.

As for the taxi driver, he’s still in the hospital, though he’s in stable condition.

Sounds like the cameras weren’t such a bad idea after all, eh?