Taxi cameras will check on drivers .
A taxi firm is installing cameras in its own cabs to record the driving standards of its employees in a bid to ensure that passengers feel safe.
ABC Countdown Cars, based in Ettingshall Road, Wolverhampton, will then watch footage of driving to monitor the speed at which employees drive and their standards on the road.
Work is under way to install the cameras in all of the company’s own fleeta,d the firm is encouraging drivers who own private vehicles to do the same.
The company has 40 vehicles while there are also another 110 drivers with their own vehicles. More than half of the company’s fleet already have cameras installed. Director
Neil Caley, who formed the company in 1998, believes that his firm could be the first taxi company nationally to introduce such an initiative.
“The cameras will be placed behind the rear view mirror and look at the road ahead. It will record the g-force and acceleration and braking,” he said. “When we take the card out, we can then watch the footage.
“It’s all being done for the safety of our customers to ensure good driving. It can be hard to keep tabs on their driving – this will help us see if people are driving carefully. If there is an accident or incident, we are able to see it on the recording.”
Mr Caley said there had been one incident where a driver was sacked following a review of footage. It showed the company’s vehicle travelling on the wrong side of the road in a bid to overtake traffic.
Another incident saw a driver cleared of any wrongdoing for knocking off a wing-mirror on a parked car, because another vehicle had crossed the white lane and would have collided head-on with the taxi.
“It’s all in the interests of safety” he said.
“I’m aware of lorry companies like Eddie Stobart doing this but I believe we are the first taxi firm to do it.”
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http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011 ... z1gQ2lxcJT
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