Originally Syndicated on May 16, 2024 @ 7:25 pm
An Uber driver who left woman on a major road, threatened a client, and sexually harassed them has lost his appeal against the decision to withdraw his driver’s license.
Public transportation drivers are not allowed to operate an Uber vehicle. Furthermore, his license has been revoked as a result of the victim’s case. The court also denied his plea for a private licence. after hearing the court’s appeal from a passenger who claimed the driver sexually harassed her and made her afraid.
Ahmed Salamin, 42, purposefully threatened a woman and proclaimed his wish to murder both her and her children. When she told him he was going in the wrong direction, he decided to take it.
In addition, he made several requests for other women to visit and live with him in Pakistan, his home country. When the women uttered such things, the court was taken aback.
Later, Ahmed desperately wanted his licence back and submitted two complaints for landlord license denial.
Since March 2016, the Old Bailey has heard multiple accusations from passengers against Ahmed Salamin.
Since March 2016, the Old Bailey has heard multiple accusations from passengers against Ahmed Salamin.
A passenger accused Uber driver Salamin of operating his vehicle in an unsafe and unpleasant manner. Later, on March 7, 2016, he left women behind on a crowded road.
Genevieve Moss, the prosecutor, presented a victim passenger’s allegation in court. She said, “My observation is extremely horrifying,” showing how important she felt at the time. In addition, I felt terribly vulnerable and was taking too many risks with my safety.
She further mentioned that an Uber driver made a hard and unsafe U-turn on Kew Bridge and mysteriously passed multiple cars. I’m very uneasy around him.
Salamin, an Uber driver, is accused of purposely threatening to kill ladies and sexually harassing other women in the vehicle.
“A truck driver was going to hit us brutally on the expressway due to his harsh driving.”
Salamin and the truck driver both came to a stop by chance. As the truck driver phoned the police, an Uber driver stopped his taxi. As a result, I was left alone in the center of the four-lane road. Salamin’s harshness caused the most uncomfortable and perilous experience of my life: driving.
In June 2016, another accusation was filed against Ahmed; a woman claimed that she left his taxi because the driver sexually harassed her. He complimented her appearance all the way home.
She further mentioned that the drive was about to end when Salamin stated, “No, I want to spend more minutes with you.”
Since March 2016, the Old Bailey has received many complaints from passengers about Ahmed Salamin.
In May 2017, he received a second complaint after shaking hands with the woman and pulling her in for a kiss. Each kiss lasted about six to seven seconds.
This woman stated that she felt uneasy traveling alone after an Uber driver used some unpleasant words.
She filed a complaint against Uber, alleging that the driver attempted to kill her and her children after they complained about the driver’s incorrect turn. After the court denied his license, an Uber driver filed an appeal.
There are numerous other charges, including using a cell phone while driving, convincing a woman to stay with him in Pakistan, and drinking and driving.
Due to several complaints against Ahmed Salamis, Uber decided to cancel his account on July 29, 2020. Transport for London also turned down its application for a private vehicle licence.
Ahmed Salamin denies all of his charges, claiming that he does not recall any passengers or incidents. When queried about the event in June 2017, he stated that he was the one who filed the complaint against a woman.
He also stated that the mistake was made by a woman, who began yelling at and insulting me. Between the disputes, a woman came out of my car using the back door and began breaking the door. Later, she contacted the police.
After the driver of an Uber account was fired, Ahmed chose to work for Bolt. However, due to a string of misfortunes and several complaints against him, Bolt also closed Ahmed’s account.
Rosa Bennathan claimed that her passengers’ constant court appearances were not their fault. Uber made the error of failing to thoroughly screen potential hires before hiring them.
A study on sexual crime and harassment on public transit
There are three types of sexual harassment offenses: physical, non-verbal, and vocal. Sexual remarks, kissing sounds, whistling, and even being urged to have sex are examples of verbal assaults. Stalking, being exposed indecently, and seeing pornographic photographs are examples of non-verbal harassment. Physical harassment include not just the most serious offenses of sexual assault and rape, but also touching, playing with a person’s hair, and groping her body.
For transportation operators, knowing the scope and type of sexual harassment on the system and how to handle it are crucial. specific demographic segments will have less mobility and transit agencies may lose ridership if fear of sexual crime prevents individuals from using the system or from travelling on it in specific ways.
Transit agencies may inquire about harassment experiences from riders through onboard surveys. We are aware that the incidence of sexual harassment in transit contexts is far lower than stated according to surveys of this kind and academic publications. As a result, transit operators continue to mainly see it as invisible. However, how can an operator deal with an unidentified issue effectively?
Transit Use Is Reduced and Fear Is Created by Sexual Harassment
According to the report, students’ use of transit is decreased when they are afraid of sexual harassment. Merely 50% of passengers said they felt safe either frequently or always when riding public transportation. The study questioned respondents if they thought that a variety of environmental variables and criminal activities, including sexual harassment, were serious issues on transportation, which helped to explain why students felt frightened.
Depending on the transit environment, 25% to 33% of riders said sexual harassment was a serious issue. Lastly, 25% of users claimed that they were unable to use transit more frequently due to sexual harassment.
Both genders are affected by sexual harassment, however far more women are
Women expressed concern about harassment far more frequently than did men. For instance, women reported feeling less comfortable than men did, and twice as many women as men considered harassment to be an issue. Additionally, 45% of female bus users but only 7% of male users stated that they had cut back on their usage of the bus due to a fear of sexual harassment.
Additionally, harassment affected far more women than men. About twice as many female as male bus riders reported verbal and non-verbal harassment, and women were also more likely to have experienced physical harassment, as shown in the figure below.
Most Sexual Harassment Incidents Go Unreported
Less than 10% of victims told anybody about the harassment they had endured, and the majority of students that did so did it to friends or family rather than the police or the bus company.
While there are numerous cultural and socioeconomic elements that are outside the control of transit operators, sexual harassment is nevertheless a problem that can be addressed proactively by operators to lessen its intensity.
In summary
We recommend taking the following steps in light of the study’s findings:
- Inform people about harassment. Public bodies such as transit operators, law enforcement, and others that exercise responsibility can launch extensive education efforts to combat sexual harassment. Such campaigns can increase awareness of the issue and motivate victims and witnesses to report incidences of sexual harassment by placing advertisements and posters on transit vehicles and in transit-related locations. Awareness campaigns can also inform the public on the acts that qualify as sexual crimes, as a related research indicates that many victims did not specifically identify sexual crimes as such.
- Make onboard surveys official. If transit operators question their passengers about their experiences with harassment through systematic surveys, they will have a better understanding of the problem and scope of harassment on their systems. Inquiries ought to focus on experiences both during and outside of the transit vehicle.
- Safe-guard against anti-social behaviours. Many respondents also indicated that they would use transit more if they did not fear antisocial behaviours like drunkenness and obscene language. Survey respondents called for more police patrols and security cameras on both platforms and transit vehicles, to reduce antisocial behaviour.
- Facilitate the reporting of harassment. The fact that nearly none of the victims, SJSU students, filed official reports of the crime highlights the necessity for transit providers to facilitate reporting for users of their services. Victims can report harassment and other offences in real time with the use of smartphone apps and dedicated phone lines. Pay close attention to the surroundings. The importance of maintaining well-lit and well-kept transit environments is shown by the respondents’ unequivocal statement that they were afraid of badly maintained and gloomy transit surroundings.
The court confirmed that despite several complaints made by passengers, Mr. Ahmed Salamin is a suitable individual to possess a licence. However, the court was taking into account a miscommunication among the passengers regarding certain accusations made against him. There is a safety concern when using cabs. The very serious charge that he attempted to kill a woman was one of the many made against him. The court mandated that Mr. Ahmed Salamin pay 500 euros. His entire world turns upside down. Due to the court’s cancellation of his licence, he is unable to work for any company.
