Taxi Driver Online

Permanent bans needed for cabbies who jeopardise lives


WHAT is it about our taxi drivers that seems to give so many of them a professional death wish?

Or, much more importantly, makes them create a death menace to their customers?

The performance of a lot of them is nothing short of abysmal when they are subject to safety checks by police or council officers.

The latest example of this has come in Burton.

Police pulled over eight taxis for scrutiny. Six had defects and were issued with prohibition notices – a disgraceful 75% failure rate.

Their failings included worn brakes, bald tyres and insecure seatbelts – any of which could have resulted in an innocent passenger being put through the windscreen.

A freak set of statistics, you might think, or want to believe?

Absolutely not. We also reported this week that nearly a third of the taxis inspected by Derby City Council in the past seven months also had to be taken off the road.

And we're not talking about minimal numbers skewing the percentages.

The authority suspended the licences of 110 taxis of the 351 it inspected.

Faulty brakes again featured among the reasons, as did dodgy lights, suspension and steering.

Nor is all this the result of a new purge by local authorities which has caught the cabbies unawares.

Only last month we reported that eight taxis were taken off the road in East Staffordshire after failing safety checks.

That was out of a total of 29, still a depressingly high proportion.

You would have imagined that with that sort of a warning shot across their bows, the cabbies not banned on that occasion would have made it their business to make their vehicles roadworthy.

They cannot claim ignorance of the law's requirements. It just reveals an appalling attitude of "not bothered".

Lots of us are caught unawares when we take in our cars for their annual service and problems are highlighted which we did not know existed.

There is little excuse for that in the eyes of the law, either, but for cabbies to be jeopardising the lives of trusting passengers is inexcusable.

At this time of the year we are bombarded with eminently sensible advice not to drink and drive.

It should be bonanza time for taxi drivers.

But one obvious danger is that some people may see these shameful statistics and decide they might be just as safe to risk driving home when they are over the limit, rather than finding or booking a taxi.

Diligent, law-abiding Hackney-carriage and private-hire drivers will be rightly dismayed by the performance of some of their colleagues and rivals.

They will be affronted that they all might be tarred with the same brush of suspicion.

That is unfortunate. Their interests – and those of the rest of us – would be best served if repeat offenders were permanently banned from holding a taxi licence.

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Perma ... story.html

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

OK now when they did our town recently they tested 20 hackneys BUT screened 60 first they only did a proper check on the ones which failed a visual first check i.e. blown bulb or fire extinguisher missing or minor dents and scratches and there is a rumour that one particular taxi firm actually persuaded the council and vosa to target a hit list of 8 vehicles which they had drawn up belonging to their main competitors which would explain why several vehicles belonging to two particular firms were sought out specially for inspection all but one of which passed with flying colours so if only 8 were tested in Burton how many were screened first ?

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Errm yes it might be but what extra is earned takes us through January and into February when it's dead as a Dodo.

Some people think we are swimming in cash.

Theres no bonanza here,dead as a dodo now,dont even like to think of jan,feb ect..

+1

Annual MOTs and another 6 monthly check (if vehicle is over certain age) help to keep vehicle in order.... such as stearing defects etc

bulbs gone always strikes me as unfair.
There is no warning incar when a bulb has just gone out.
Even if you are regimental and check the lights before shift... a bulb will go when it decides to.
To include this is unfair (if the driver can replace the bulb with a carried spare... this should then not count as defect).

warn brakes is also a 'bad sounding' situation.... with brand new pads, when you first depress the brake peddle, you will now have warn brakes.
If you own your own vehicle you will be more able to assess the brake waring/replacement.... but if you hire, the first you may know is when metal grinds
My point here is the difference of owner and hired

I took a hired taxi back in as during the shift I started to hear faint metal on metal.... the garage (owner) took the wheel off and it revealed no pads left (in my opinion), but he said oh, you'll get a few more days out of those!
We had a disagreement

Any inspection (and reporting of) should at least enquire as to owner or hired.... BEFORE tarring all taxi drivers.

Not a resolution.... just food for thought in discussion of journalism with less sensation and more substance

There is if you drive a skoda

There is on a lot of cars now.
We had our Peugeot 406 in for maintenance yesterday. When we finished we gave the lights the once over. Checked the side lights, ok, turned the headlights on, ok, woa hang on one of the bulbs blew right there when we were checking it. It also blew the fuse. Yes they can go at any time.

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Grandad,

Especially since it's nigh near impossible to change some headlight bulbs at the roadside.

Don't know why VOSA allows cars to be used in the UK where the manufacturer claims that you need an authorised dealer to change a bulb.

What are you expected to do - hire a towtruck to take you to a garage or break the law?

What I used to spend on preventative maintenance now goes on increased insurance premiums and extra fuel costs

I dont fit tyres early or have the oil/filters changed early - they have to wait till its due +10%

A noise doesnt get investigated, i turn the radio up

I live with faults id have had done ASAP 5 years ago

If the car goes tits up and im skint thats game/set and match as far as im concerned, HMG can keep me like they keep the chavs and illegals my tax and VAT/fuel duty/RFL has been keeping for years

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Can't argue with that ^^^^^^^^^^^^

When I'm in mischief mood..... if ever asked the three Q's of absolute dullness:
busy?
what time start/finish?

I find amusement at thanking them for their interest..... then tell them about my new shocks.... and the price..... and ask if they like the smooth ride comfort.... and the new wheel bearing.... etc etc

Tyres are my fav.... mine are £60 a corner = £240
Which when phrased as nearly "quarter grand".... raises eye brows

When they get out, I have a chuckle
When they are gone, I quietly cry

I used to keep service parts in the shed, oil, filters, antifreeze, screenwash

I dont now, I buy on spec when needed and wait for Ebay to deliver

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most