Taxi Driver Online

Taxi drivers' fury at 'draconian' penalties Nov 6 2003

A TOUGH new 'three strikes and you are out' policy will see taxi drivers who ignore basic rules of the job in the royal borough barred from practising their trade.

The new rules, confirmed at Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council's licensing panel on Monday, will see drivers facing a three point penalty for not having a fire extinguisher or displaying their licenses properly.

Nine points would mean a suspension.

Angry taxi drivers have attacked the new measures as draconian.

Driver Asghar Ali who was at the meeting said: "A lot of drivers now feel dismayed and intimidated. This has given the council a loaded gun to shoot us whenever it likes."

But the borough's leading enforcement officer Alan Barwise said: "We just want to make sure that people who get into a taxi in the royal borough know they are safe. Maybe a driver won't have a fire extinguisher despite the rule that he must. We want to make sure he does have one. We aren't going to be targeting people for no reason and we are not going to be judge and jury. Any driver will be able to appeal if they feel unfairly treated."

He said that the previous system had been weak and had led to shocking cases, such as one driver who was caught for driving without a license or insurance and then turned up again almost at once plying his trade.

He said there were problems outside Windsor's late night venues which had to be tackled.
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Another council that doesn't read the trade press.

The recent 'Bylaws' case, said that only the Secretary of State can vary HC driver's conditions.

But clearly Windsor and Maidenhead Council don't need to bother with such niceties.

So not having your fire-estingusiher three times will lead to a suspension.
Who the flipping hell do these idiots thing they are. Jobs worths flipping jobworths.

P.S. Flipping wasnt the word I wanted to use.

Which just displays your attitude to rules, we have a 3 strike and you are out policy, if you stick to the rules there is a chance for single overlaps to be excused instead of booked every time but those who continualy break rules go off the road.

right and fair 2, these jobsworths c=gull are doing thier job with discreation against those who refuse to do thier jobs.

Wharfie

I think I agree with you Wharfie, if drivers do the job right, then they will not get any points whatsoever.

However as it says in the big book, 'he who is without sin'.

Alex