Taxi Driver Online

Good example of a driver's name splattered all over the press over, er, not very much...

But, of course, it is Scotland, and it is North Ayrshire - that's the same council publishing the names of drivers revoked for failing to take the course

(Edit - it was actually East Ayrshire that revoked for the non-attendances. This is in the Daily Record, which is the Scottish version of the Mirror. Not sure how local articles like this end up there - presumably they're originally from a local source. Can't imagine Record journalists taking much direct interest in this sort of thing.)

Misleading headline here, though - reads like the driver has COPD, but it's actually the 'boy' who runs the car who has it, by the looks of it


Taxi driver told off for smoking in his cab on 'nice day' as he makes COPD admission

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/ ... b-34190815

The driver thought he was complying with the no-smoking policy as he was blowing cigarette smoke out of the vehicle.

A cabbie has been given a ticking off by licensing chiefs for smoking inside his taxi.

Andrew Dysart appeared before the North Ayrshire Licensing Committee on Wednesday.

Drew Robertson, Civil Licensing Standards Officer with North Ayrshire Council revealed that the cabbie faced allegations for failing to adhere to taxi licensing conditions smoking policy at Saltcoats train station on April 9, at 11.25am.

He has held a licence since July 2022 which is valid until July 31, 2025 and had no previous complaints against him.

Mr Dysart was in the driver's seat of the first taxi in the rank. He had the driver’s door open with his feet facing out of the vehicle and smoking a cigarette. There were no passengers in the vehicle.

Asked why he was doing this, he said he considered he was complying with the no-smoking policy as he was blowing cigarette smoke out of the vehicle.

Mr Robertson confirmed that no smoking was permitted in a licenced vehicle by either passengers or drivers and applies to driver and passengers regardless of whether or not it is on hire. This includes the use of e-cigarettes and vaporising devices.

He added it was a nice, dry day and there was no reason why he could not have stood outside or beside the car.

He said: “The door was open, the window was open and I was not sitting with the steering wheel in front of me. All I can say is apologise and say sorry.

Cllr Christina Larsen said licensing policy was that no smoking was allowed in a vehicle.

Asked why he had broken the rules he said: “I don’t know why i did it as I don't smoke in the taxi as you don’t want people to come in smelling smoke.

“The boy I drive for has COPD and any smoke in the car he would know straight away as he would go into a fit of coughing.”

Cllr Larsen said it was incumbent that he did not smoke in the vehicle.

She said Mr Dysart had a duty to ensure everyone in his taxi was not affected by his passive smoking.

Cllr Nairn Angus-McDonald asked if it was something he would not do again and he agreed.

Cllr Larsen put forward a motion saying that the driver should be given a warning letter following the incident and this was seconded by chair Eleanor Collier.

An amendment was proposed by cllr Nairn Angus-Macdonald, seconded by cllr Donald L Reid to take no action.

The motion was passed by five votes to three.

Seen plenty of this kind of thing over the years - drivers half out of the car, with a cigarette hanging from their fingers. So the fag is outside the car, but when the driver actually draws it's inside the car

But supposing the driver kept the cigarette at arm's length outside the car door, then put his whole head outside for the door - would that breach the ban, assuming the cigarette was never actually inside the car?

Would you like to test that in court?

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IDFIMH

So much time was wasted on such a trivial matter that ended up with no outcome.

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IDFIMH

Sussex, that's how I read it as well, at least before having a second look.

I think the 'motion' was for the warning letter, while the 'amendment' was for no action.

It was the 'motion' that was passed, thus he was warned

And they couldn't have done that at the scene of the incident?

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IDFIMH

Grandad, I certainly wouldn't personally be interested in testing my scenario in court, but just wondered about what the basic definition of smoking in a car is

So if the lighted fag is never in the car, and the driver's head is outside the car when he draws, is he smoking in the car?

Can't find the exact wording, and it's fiendishly complicated.

But the Government's official page on smoking in cars generally when under-18s are in the vehicle says it still applies "when someone sits smoking in the open doorway of a vehicle".

Presumably the taxi stuff is similar, so I'd guess that effectively the rule is that there should be no physical contact between the taxi driver and car while smoking...

...anyway, if it was up to me there would be no smoking on the ranks at all

It's always annoyed me, but then again drivers using the streets as an ashtray annoyed me for years before the smoking ban in cars came into force

But the drivers actually standing about just made it more annoying, especially when they seem to be standing closer to your car than theirs

On the other hand, not so much of that these days, for obvious reasons. And at least the drivers using the streets as an ashtray are more diverse these days

And another thing that's always annoyed me is that occasionally people approaching the rank often make a beeline for a smoking driver, particularly if it's a non-standard job and they need to ask the driver something (in which case it's often a mega-job ).

To that extent it's always seemed to me like a mild form of touting, or at least it sometimes gives smoking drivers an unfair advantage

This is the solution...