Taxi Driver Online

Makes a change to read a story from Bury which isn't about the testing regime. Still all the council's fault, though


Calls for taxi licensing rule change after drivers attacked by brick throwing yobs

https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/179877 ... wing-yobs/

PRIVATE hire and taxi drivers are urging the council to change its number plate rules to protect passengers and drivers after yobs threw stones through a window, narrowly missing a man’s head.

Last week Bury driver Usman Tariq had been working in Prospect Street, Heywood, when he was targeted.

A brick was thrown through his back window littering the passenger seats with broken glass. He said: “It didn’t frighten me but it was only a one foot gap from maybe hitting me in the head.”

The incident was reported to police and investigations are ongoing.

At a Licensing and Safety Panel meeting on Thursday, drivers warned councillors and officers that private hire vehicles and taxis are regularly targeted by gangs of vandals who throw bricks and other projectiles.

They called on the local authority to change current rules which they claim enable the thugs to spot taxis from a distance.

Shaf Mahmood, a representative of Private Hire Drivers Association and manager at Walmersley taxi base, said: “As soon as they see the front plate they know it’s a taxi.

“I have asked this question many times, but will we have to wait until one of you councillors is in the back of one of our cabs and someone throws a brick or a stone and it hurts you, before action will be taken?

“They can see from a mile away that it’s a taxi with a yellow plate in front. There are many other councils who allow no front plates for the safety of the passengers and the driver and anyone using that car.

“Consider this please because it could be your safety or Mr Tariq could have had his family in the back of his car, or a passenger.”

Mr Mahmood also requested that the council review its policy on permanent vehicle signs which he claimed were similarly putting drivers and their families at risk.

Current Bury Council rules mean taxi and private hire drivers licensed by the local authority must display identification plates at the front and rear of their vehicles. Plates must also be fixed and visible at all times.

Likewise signs with the operator’s name must be at the front and rear of the vehicle, and with the name, phone number and logo added on the doors.

Licensing unit manager Michael Bridge told the panel: “The conditions state that vehicles have to have two plates. That has been the policy in Bury for the last 13 years. Yes, Mr Mahmood is correct, there are authorities that do have one plate. It would be a matter for this council to decide whether they wanted to move from the stance of the conditions in relation to having one plate or not.”

During the meeting licensing panel agreed to hold a review into the licence plate policy.

Not actually the 'number plate' in its usual meaning.


I'm not frightened by bricks coming through the window and missing my head by inches either


Is that really the reason some councils don't require front plates?


Maybe just using this as an excuse to get rid of *permanent* door signs etc?

Obviously a difficult issue this, but needs to be balanced with need to identify a PHV as a licensed vehicle. And presumably the whole thing is a lot worse for HCs?

Presumably the plates in question are as per the photo below.

To be fair they do look very big for front plates, in fact bigger than our rear plates here.

We have the small window-mounted plates in the front (HC and PH), which are obviously a bit less in-your-face than these beasts in Bury.

Would be fascinating to do an in-depth survey into this kind of thing; sizes, positions, colours, comparing HC to PH etc

Sort of thing I might do if I'd won the lottery tonight. Unfortunately I forgot to put my ticket on again, so the plate survey will have to wait till next week


Image: Elton Bullit

I think the big yellow light on the roof of Hackney’s might give it away as well.

Indeed - whatever the PHVs' problems in this regard, presumably worse for the HCs?


Another photo in the link below from the firm Magnum Whiteline. Interesting that the Magnum plates seem to be side-mounted, while the Elton Bullit plates above seem to be centre-mounted. Which is presumably company policy, but normally precise plate positioning is decided by the local authority?

Utterly fascinating stuff though

http://www.magnumwhitelinetaxis.co.uk/w ... m-copy.png

(Photo a bit big to display on the forum, hence the link)

ours require the plate attached to the outside of the vehicle but certainly don't specify exactly where and we don't have front plates

this stone throwing at taxis had been a major issue up and down the country

Taxis and PH need to be clearly identifiable for the safety of punters which makes them an easy target

Making them less visible isn't the answer getting the police to get of their backsides and do something is what needs to happen

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Bury Council could change taxi licence plate rules after attacks

https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/180800 ... s-attacks/

BURY Council could heed to calls from cabbies to change its rules on number plates to protect passengers and drivers.

The town hall is considering whether to remove the requirement for a front licence plate on private hire vehicles and hackney carriages.

This comes after drivers told councillors of attackers targeting taxis and of one case in which yobs threw stones through a window, narrowly missing a man’s head.

Cllr Tahir Rafiq, who chairs the licensing and safety panel, said the move has been proposed for the "betterment" of the taxi drivers and their passengers.

He said: "I consider the safety of both the public and the drivers just as important as each other. Everybody should be able to work in a safe environment. Hence why we are looking into this. The safety of both drivers and the public is paramount."

The proposal comes after one cabbie told councillors of an incident which he believes could have been avoided if the rules were different.

In October, Usman Tariq had been working in Prospect Street, Heywood, when a brick was thrown through his back window littering the passenger seats with broken glass.

He said: “It didn’t frighten me but it was only a one foot gap from maybe hitting me in the head.”

Drivers warned that private hire vehicles and taxis are regularly targeted by gangs of vandals who throw bricks and other projectiles.

They called on the local authority to change current rules which they claim enable the thugs to spot taxis from a distance.

Representing Bury Private Hire Drivers Association, Shaf Mahmood said: “As soon as they see the front plate they know it’s a taxi.

"They can see from a mile away that it’s a taxi with a yellow plate in front. There are many other councils who allow no front plates for the safety of the passengers and the driver and anyone using that car."

Mr Mahmood requested that the council review its policy on permanent vehicle signs which he claimed were similarly putting drivers and their families at risk.

The licensing and safety panel met last week but deferred a decision on the proposal until the next meeting so that officers could consider changing the rules so that the licence plate is smaller rather than removing it entirely from the front of the vehicle.

The next meeting is scheduled for January 9.

Still think that's a red herring - doubt if many councils won't specify front plates because it makes it easier to spot PHVs. To a degree PHVs often made *more* easy to spot, and that's a given for HCs.


Predictable that they might just change to a smaller plate size.

But would that really make all that difference as regards stone throwers?

Again, this stuff just looks like a red herring for the wider problem of stone throwing - you either make the cars indistinguishable from ordinary cars, or they'll always be a target. And it's unavoidable as regards HCs.

I'd have smaller front plates simply because these look too big aesthetically , not because it makes the cars a target for stone throwers, which I think it doesn't.

Wondered when Charles would put in an appearance

That's him in the denims


The one simple change authorities hope will stop attacks on taxi drivers in Bury

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... e-17580088

Taxi drivers have been attacked by gangs, and pelted with stones


Image: Manchester Evening News

Taxis in Bury will be fitted with smaller licence plates, after drivers complained that front plates were contributing to targeted attacks on them.

Bury Council looks set to heed to the calls of cabbies as a panel of councillors voted in favour of the changes to the local authority’s rules on licence plates.

Rules on tinted windows are also set to change so that taxi drivers can keep those windows already fitted by manufacturers rather than paying for new ones if they do not meet the council’s own standards.

The size of front licence plates will be reduced from April pending ratification at a full council meeting next week.

This comes after drivers told the councillors about attackers targeting taxis and of one case in which yobs threw stones through a window, narrowly missing a man’s head.

But despite the changes, trade representatives argued that the requirement for front plates should be removed altogether.

Charles Oakes, chairman of the Hackney Drivers Association, said: “I’m speaking as someone with 38 years’ experience. You don’t need front plates. What good are they?”

Licensing unit manager Michael Bridge told taxi drivers at a meeting last week Oldham Council had recently reintroduced the requirement to have two plates on vehicles.

But Bury Private Hire Driver Association secretary Muhammad Sajjad urged the licensing and safety panel to remove the requirement for front licence plates on a temporary trial basis.

He said: “See if crime is reduced. If there’s no changes, put two or three on the front.”

Councillors considered removing the requirement for front licence plates at a meeting in November.

However, Cllr Steve Wright suggested looking at reducing the size of the front plate instead.

He raised concerns that the rules would change again when common minimum standards for taxi licensing across Greater Manchester are agreed in the near future.

The Prestwich councillor who works for a brakes company in Rochdale said that the issue of front licence plate had not come up when he spoke to taxi drivers.

A narrow majority of councillors voted to change the size of the front plate, but three opposed the changes, including Cllr Charlotte Morris said the move seemed “premature”.

She said: “I’m not sure that a smaller plate addresses the issues being raised. I’m super sympathetic to the concerns raised but this seems like a half measure.”

The panel voted down a proposal to change the size of the identification badge which taxi drivers are required to wear.

Councillors did however support changes to the rules on window tinting by a margin of six to one.

Licensing chair Tahir Rafiq explained why.

He said: “The current policy doesn’t seem to be fair. I think an amendment allowing this would appear to be fairer.”

Front plates will be changed at no extra cost when drivers renew their licence after April.

Taxi drivers can pay to fit a smaller front licence plate should they chose to do so before renewal.

So why did Oldham say they were no longer required, but now say they're necessary again?


Two or three plates?

Well done, sense prevails.

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IDFIMH

Can't really argue with that.

There is an argument as to why we really need rear plates, but that's not going to change ever.

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IDFIMH