Taxi drivers in Cork city have called for the Public Order Act to be updated urgently following a number of attacks.
They claim they often fear for their lives as drunken passengers threaten them for money using knives and bottles as weapons.
Derry Coughlan, the Cork representative of the Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation (ITDF), says teenagers under the influence of drink and drugs routinely assault drivers in the city.
"The Public Order Act needs to be modernised as society has changed. Young people are being served too much drink in the pubs and then they are going into taxis and being abusive," he said.
"We object to even wearing a seat-belt because you are a sitting duck and they can hop out without paying. Drivers are going off the road on weekends because it has become too dangerous."
The ITDF has also called for "Pavement Acts" to be introduced in the city because of frequent jaywalking by drunken teenagers.