Taxi Driver Online

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse in taxi licenses row

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18517 ... enses-row/

TAXI drivers in South Oxfordshire criticised local authorities over suspending their licenses without notice in a sudden move that looks like a 'major administrative error'.

Emails from a licensing officer from South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils showed that 'expired' medical records are to blame but drivers insisted there has been a change in policy they have not been made aware of.

The Oxford Mail was told that the number of drivers who have been affected s is around 45. South and Vale district councils refused to confirm the claims but said 'it is not impossible'.

A spokesperson added: "We have over 1,500 taxi drivers and the number of drivers with temporary suspensions will vary from day to day. "We have a duty to help protect public safety and it is not impossible that 45 drivers could have been suspended at one time, particularly if their medical assessment has expired."

The local authority that is responsible for issuing taxi licenses said its policy has not changed but added that the requirements for individual taxi drivers can change depending on their age and medical status.

Drivers aged over 45 are required to have a medical every five years and drivers aged 65 and over, and those with certain medical conditions, require an annual exam.

At least three drivers have been affected and they claimed there are many more who do not want to come forward as they fear repercussions from the councils. One of them Stewart Moss, who is diabetic, received an email from licensing officer Richard Brown that his license is 'suspended immediately' on June 2.

Mr Brown wrote: "We have been checking some of our records and found that your last Group 2 medical was conducted in 2017. "As an insulin dependant driver current guidelines are that you should have a Group 2 medical every year. "Therefore your group 2 medical expired in 2018."

If what the licensing officer has said is true, this means the driver has worked without appropriate documentation for almost two years.

While the local authority refused to comment on individual cases, Mr Moss, who has worked as a taxi driver for more than a decade, said he has always renewed his medical every five years.

He added: "I have never experienced anything like this. "I have two daughters and four grandchildren to provide for, and with the pandemic going on I do not know how I can get to a doctor."

Several taxi drivers have been in touch with the MP for Oxford West and Abingdon Layla Moran to put pressure on the local authority.

She said: "I am aware of this issue affecting a significant number of my constituents, and I have been speaking to the district council on their behalf to ask whether there is an appeals process that can be followed."

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IDFIMH

If the council have suspended him without notice then that's a pretty sh**ty thing to do.

Give the fella(s) a month license, get them to undertake a medical, and once they pass it give them a license for the rest of the year.

It's what happens in most other sensible councils.

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IDFIMH

1) I thought insulin dependence meant you could not hold a taxi/ph license ?

2) How come it has taken 2 years to notice he should have been sent a reminder at the time

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

I would think any Council who is aware of the difficulties of obtaining a group 2 medical during this crisis would be inclined to inform the driver to produce an up to date medical certificate at the earliest opportunity,still allowing the driver to drive on what I assume is a 3 year license.

Not the case.

The issue is how many, if any, diabetic episodes a person has since the last medical. If it's none then the box should be ticked and on to the next section.

If it's more than none then it's going to be a struggle to keep your license.

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IDFIMH

Only if you've a history of passing out (a 'hypo') and you don't check your blood sugar levels regularly.

Exact procedure depend whether your council applies Group 1 or the stricter Group 2 criteria.

Remember a couple of years ago DocG on here lost his badge because he couldn't provide records of his blood sugar testing history. For Group 2 you have to show your doctor your blood sugar self-testing history. Because of a technical malfunction (or something like that) DocG lost his records, therefore lost his badge until he could show records of a history of testing again

Looks like an administrative cock up of some kind here, and when it's been discovered there's obviously been a panic at the council, and looks like they've overreacted

(Sussex obviously writing his post at the same time as me - 'diabetic episode' is the same as what I called a hypo - short for hypoglycemia, or very low blood sugar, which can cause a diabetic to pass out.)

Strictly speaking, the rules are about a *severe* hypo rather than just a hypo. A severe hypo means a hypo that you can't deal with yourself.

Diabetes basically means your blood sugar levels are too high, which causes long-term damage to your body.

A normal person's blood sugar is something like 5 units, and increases to maybe 8 after a meal (which pumps sugar into your body, even if it's not actually sugar. Bread, rice, cornflakes or baked beans, for example, will just turn to sugar (or glucose, to use the more technical term)).

But a diabetic's levels will stay a lot higher than that all the time - maybe 10, 20 or even 30.

So if insulin is injected, that pulls the blood sugar down to more normal levels.

But if too much insulin is used, the blood sugar will be less than a normal person's - maybe 4 units, or even 3. And if it goes this low, then a hypo can happen, which means the person will feel weak and shaky. In more extreme cases, a severe hypo occurs, and the person can pass out, which is where the problem arises for drivers.

So basically if your blood sugar is too high or too low then it's problematic, and the difficulty is using the right amount of insulin to get the levels as close to normal as possible.

So essentially what the medical professionals want to know is whether you're in danger of passing out, and whether you're keeping track of things and that you know all the signs and symptoms to prevent a severe hypo at the wheel.

But the cause of the problem here is basically over-medicating with insulin, because it requires fine judgement rather than just taking pills twice a day, or whatever, and it's not easy to get it bang on

0Yes, with insulin it is all about control and testing.
I am told that I should check my sugar level before driving and not to drive if it is below 5.0 mmol. I manage to keep my sugar levels between 5 and 8 most of the time.

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Grandad,