Taxi Driver Online

Can anyone tell me if this is true!
When doing a wheelchair hire, we are not supposed to wheel them in or out of the vehicle! why? Its all down to health and safety!
if we injure ourselves or the customer while doing so we are not covered by our insurance! If a wheelchair customer wants a taxi they must have someone other than the taxi driver to do so!
By the way,it was someone from the council that told me this!
anyone got any info on this?

Your liability insurance should cover anything you do in the process of your work, including loading and un-loading WAV customers.

The only thing it doesn't cover is you.

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IDFIMH

so are we allowed to say no to wheelchair jobs on the understanding if we hurt ourselves we get no compensation?

Absolutely.

Council's despite what they may like to think, have a duty of care towards us.

If they insisted that you did something, that caused you to hurt yourself, they would be wide open for you to claim damages.

A doctor's letter, saying that you should be exempt from such activities, should suffice.

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IDFIMH

just had my knowledge test.
before the test they made us watch a video all about disabled passengers equal rights to use cabs or something like.
anyway the video was to show us how to get a wheelchair into a cab,secure it and get them out again,by using ramps and harnes's.
So i'm presuming they DO require drivers to assist disabled passengers whether they be in a wheelchair,deaf ,blind or whatever.I wouldn't mind doing it anyway,i mean disabled passngers will always use taxi's as they can't get the bus or train

every so often I read debates that disgusts me, this is one of them.

funny how we should not help disabled cos if we get injured we are not covered, yet we lift suitcases that are heavy, we will carry drunks and the like.

red if you are not covered by insurance to do you job, get some that does, but dont bleat about not helping disabled people.

your licensing authority is a disgrace and I found your writings offensive

please be a little proffessional

Why it is that whenever we have a chat about the disabled, out comes the pious amongst us?

If the bloke values his back, is that wrong?

If he asks a question, is that wrong?

There are jobs that I wont do in a million years, and if I don't do them, then I don't expect anyone else to. But if they do, I take my hat off to them.

As for the video, I expect the council has shown that to cover it's own back, should anything happen.

But please, for those who wish to be part of the PC, tree hugging brigade, can you do it elsewhere.

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IDFIMH

sussex.
like other trades you can do the job or you cant through lack of fitness.

if you lack fitness then dont go to work.

its fairly simple

If this disgusts you, then tough luck mate!!
I didnt come on here saying i wont do wheelchair work.
I do wheelchair work whenever i am needed! I came on for some advice,not some rantings from a prat like you!
If you pushed a wheelchair customer up a ramp and they injured themselves , they would be covered by the liabilty insurance and as sussex man has said and i checked I WOULD NOT BE COVERED!
so why should i put myself at risk! I t is up to the councils to get this sorted!

If we are honest, then whenever this debate comes up, it's not that we don't care for WAV customers, it's just not the best part of the job.

However the HC/PH trade is used as the last option, the lowest of the low, when it comes to transporting WAV customers.

The ambulance service have to have two fully trained ambulance staff, when they do a WAV request.

We are just left to lump it on our own.

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IDFIMH

Our association have just had a discussion on this very issue.

Our conditions of license state that we must offer passengers reasonable assistance and we are expected to do so.

In the case of wheelchair bound passengers, if a driver feels he will be injured or that passenger will not be safe, he is permitted to refuse the job, however he must have a very good reason for it.

For example, one wheelchair bound passenger expects the driver to go to the rear of her property, walk through a yard full of dog poo, knock on the door, go into the house and help her into the taxi.

Drivers have refused to do this, firstly because of the dog poo and secondly they do not wish to enter the persons house. These reasons have been accepted by the LA, purely because the driver would also not do the job if the person were able bodied.

So far as I am aware, the driver must assist the passenger from their front door, to the front door of the destination. If the driver feels that their is a risk element they can refuse, he must naturally assess each job as the the risk involved.

Incidentally, those nice people from our LA now go to the wheelchair bound lady's house five times a week to clean her dog poo up.

regards

Captain Cab

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Why don't bus drivers assist w/c customers ?
If a w/c uses an adapted bus, low floor etc, the driver will not assist or clamp the wheelchair, they will not leave their driver seat.
If they did assist they would be liable in the event of an accident Etc. As far as I know they are specifically forbidden to assist by the bus companies.
Similar to the law on clearing snow from your property, if you leave it you cannot be responsible but if you clear the snow away and someone falls you could be sued.
So can LA's compel taxi drivers to assist, also public liabilityinsurance is not mandatory. So do we pull-up open the door and stand aside whilst the passenger loads and clamps themselves. W/C would only be able to use taxis if accompanied by someone who accepts responsibility for loading.
The people who make these rules rarely have any practical experience and anything less than total acceptance of their thinking is labled anti-disabled and insensitive.

just filling in a tender for bus routes

"drivers to be suitably trained and assist with wheelchair passengers"

where do you get your info from pal? the bar at the local?

Here you, disgusted guest you come on here like all fierce and unforgiving making out that we are all against disabled people why then would a lot of people in here put on 20 grand wavs if they didn't care answer that one you dumpling..by the way my brothers in a wheelchair and i don't find anybodys comments digrading but their is always one plonker willing to fight the world and that plonker my friend is you...you dumpling....<............>.....

Check with your local bus company, I was not talking about tendered routes, but the regular buses, town and city centre double deckers etc.
Here we have low entry buses and raised kerb bus stops to help the disabled, but drivers WILL NOT assist.