Fears change to taxi laws will increase attacks on Crawley women by sexual predatorsA GOVERNMENT plan to allow anyone to drive a private hire taxi when they are not in official use has led to fears that women in Crawley will be put at risk by sexual predators.
The chairman of Crawley Borough Council’s licensing committee has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, to urge him to reconsider the proposed changes.
Clause 10 of the Deregulation Bill currently going through Parliament will allow private hire vehicles to be driven by anybody, regardless of whether they are a licensed cab driver, when the car is off duty.
The concern locally, and elsewhere in the UK, is that members of the public have no way of knowing if the taxi is off duty, and may be lured into a car by someone they think is a licensed driver.
Michael Jones, the licensing committee chairman at the council, wrote in his letter: “Most private hire vehicles have permanent and very visible branding, and we do not believe that people will be able to identify when a car is off duty.
“We believe that Clause 10 would increase the risk of individuals or gangs using private hire vehicles to exploit passengers, and particularly vulnerable children.”
Cllr Jones pointed to the recent report into a child abuse network in Rotherham and the use of private hire vehicles to ferry children to places where they were attacked.
Yvonne Traynor, who will run a new rape crisis centre in Crawley when it opens next year, said the legislation risks putting a lot of vulnerable women at risk of sexual assaults.
She said: “We have been campaigning for many years to regulate mini cabs to ensure that women know that they are getting into a cab with a registered – and safe – driver, not a potential criminal.
“This regulation would set us back ten years and compromise the safety of women and girls.
“It makes no sense at all at a time when the police and politicians have the safety of women and girls on the political agenda.
“We want to maximise the regulation of cab drivers, not turn back the clock to the dark ages.”
Members of the Hackney Carriage Association, which represents council-licensed drivers, met with the council on October 22 to outline their concerns about the proposal.
Driver Amin Mirza, who is chair of the group, said: “The reason we think only licensed drivers should drive a private hire vehicle is for the safety of the public.
“We think that you can almost guarantee that anyone who is not licensed to drive a private hire vehicle will take advantage and could commit all sorts of crime.”
Read more:
http://www.crawleynews.co.uk/Fears-chan ... z3IZxudZQj
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